Speaker: 00:00:00

The Juice WRLD documentary, Into the Abyss.

00:00:02,166 --> 00:00:07,083

As far as a true documentary, like in the traditional sense, it's missing a lot.

00:00:07,083 --> 00:00:10,958

It's more or less following my tour, seeing his demise into the abyss.

00:00:10,958 --> 00:00:17,416

It didn't even feel like a full-on documentary because I honestly wanted to learn more about him.

00:00:17,416 --> 00:00:19,666

Yeah, the documentary starts with him just freestyling.

00:00:19,666 --> 00:00:20,750

It's like a finished product.

00:00:20,750 --> 00:00:23,458

And I think that's part of where it lacks the story.

00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:25,416

Like there's no arc of him.

00:00:25,416 --> 00:00:26,833

You only see the down part.

00:00:26,833 --> 00:00:30,083

I would like to have seen more of the development of him as an artist.

00:00:30,083 --> 00:00:33,916

But in its own way, it had a kind of directness and reality to it.

00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,500

On this episode of Hip Hop Movie Club,

00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:39,250

we tell you why this documentary was a flawed

00:00:39,250 --> 00:00:41,333

but a deeply poignant cautionary tale,

00:00:41,333 --> 00:00:44,333

we get a grasp of just how big of a star Juice WRLD was,

00:00:44,916 --> 00:00:47,916

and how he was the inspirational voice who helped a generation,

00:00:48,166 --> 00:00:49,958

but tragically couldn't help himself.

00:00:50,083 --> 00:00:53,208

I'm DynoWright, filmmaker, designer, longtime hip hop fan.

00:00:53,208 --> 00:00:56,791

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, longtime hip hop fan.

00:00:56,791 --> 00:00:59,333

I'm Boogie, a DJ, longtime hip hop fan.

00:00:59,333 --> 00:01:08,375

Documentary follows Juice WRLD, the late Juice WRLD on tour, mostly from September to

November 2019, leading up to his untimely death in December.

00:01:08,375 --> 00:01:15,875

The whole thing just will serve as like a powerful warning about the consequences of

untreated mental health issues and substance dependency.

00:01:16,041 --> 00:01:19,375

I even questioned some of the

motives behind putting this out, like

00:01:19,458 --> 00:01:20,916

was it fan service?

00:01:20,916 --> 00:01:22,291

Was it a money grab?

00:01:22,291 --> 00:01:26,125

Feel like I was watching an almost two hour “Say No to Drugs” ad and it's tragic.

00:01:26,125 --> 00:01:27,083

You can see it coming.

00:01:27,083 --> 00:01:32,333

He was popping his Percocet pills like they were like M&M's and just popping them like 40

a day at sometimes.

00:01:32,916 --> 00:01:35,208

Yeah, that's the thing for this film.

00:01:35,291 --> 00:01:40,000

It shows how the people around him enabled his addiction to keep the machine going.

00:01:40,083 --> 00:01:42,833

And they failed to help him, even though there were hints of it.

00:01:43,041 --> 00:01:45,666

Ally Lotti wanted him not to drink so much lean.

00:01:45,916 --> 00:01:49,583

the average person would need like one ounce to get a nice

00:01:49,583 --> 00:01:50,416

feeling out of it.

00:01:50,416 --> 00:01:52,208

And he's doing like four ounces of it.

00:01:52,208 --> 00:01:58,208

I read afterwards that his mom wanted to get him into professional help, but, and it was

supposedly booked, but it was too late.

00:01:58,250 --> 00:02:02,708

It's a shame to see his flame go out at such a young age because he did have

talent.

00:02:02,708 --> 00:02:10,333

The clips of him freestyling and everybody was talking about how he would go into the studio and just off the top of his head do a song and do like

00:02:10,333 --> 00:02:13,000

multiple takes of it and say, you guys pick the best one.

00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:14,291

And he would do that for every track

00:02:14,291 --> 00:02:15,125

that he was doing.

00:02:15,125 --> 00:02:18,750

And that kind of work ethic, man, that's, that is to be commended.

00:02:19,583 --> 00:02:22,000

Every generation seems to a voice.

00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:23,250

For me, it was Kurt Cobain.

00:02:23,250 --> 00:02:27,458

But this current generation, it was Juice WRLD, billions of streams worth.

00:02:27,458 --> 00:02:30,666

You need music at that time of your life to get you through.

00:02:30,666 --> 00:02:35,750

What I was impressed by though was the amount of people in the crowds when he would

perform.

00:02:35,750 --> 00:02:40,041

75,000 people at a show? He’s doing these kinds of numbers.

00:02:40,083 --> 00:02:40,791

Yeah.

00:02:40,791 --> 00:02:45,125

It's sometimes hard to get a sense of the scale, but he was huge.

00:02:45,125 --> 00:02:46,250

Billions of streams.

00:02:46,250 --> 00:02:47,916

That's like Taylor Swift numbers.

00:02:48,041 --> 00:02:53,791

His numbers were definitely competing with those the big names the big heavyweights he was

competing with them

00:02:53,875 --> 00:02:55,083

And one of the most impressive things,

00:02:55,083 --> 00:02:56,791

It was almost like an accidental superstar.

00:02:56,916 --> 00:03:01,791

He did not have the machine behind him, like the marketing machine that a lot of other artists have.

00:03:02,541 --> 00:03:03,416

It's a tragedy.

00:03:03,416 --> 00:03:06,875

His artistic expression got him through life, but it didn't preserve it.

00:03:07,375 --> 00:03:08,791

You need more than just that.

00:03:08,791 --> 00:03:10,000

Man can't live on art alone.

00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:20,291

There's been other instances of this where you see the reflections within the music is

almost like a plea for help where he's constantly talking about his substance abuse and

00:03:20,291 --> 00:03:22,541

needing this to get by.

00:03:22,666 --> 00:03:26,166

And one of the big examples that comes to my mind is Chester Bennington from Linkin Park.

00:03:26,458 --> 00:03:29,541

I tried so hard, I get so far, but in the end nothing really matters.

00:03:29,541 --> 00:03:32,291

Talking about pain a lot, loneliness.

00:03:32,291 --> 00:03:38,166

So many songs are like a plea for help and that's his artistic expression.

00:03:38,166 --> 00:03:41,875

And unfortunately, his depression led to a suicide and it’s just a shame.

00:03:41,875 --> 00:03:45,375

I think the most recent one for me was Amy Winehouse.

00:03:45,375 --> 00:03:46,791

She had a song, tried to make me go to rehab.

00:03:46,791 --> 00:03:47,958

But I said, no, no, no.

00:03:47,958 --> 00:03:49,375

was like, she, you know, couldn't shake it.

00:03:49,375 --> 00:03:52,541

His openness and vulnerability in his music was impressive.

00:03:52,541 --> 00:03:56,666

Lucid Dreams, over a billion views on YouTube and that is a haunting refrain.

00:03:56,666 --> 00:03:58,958

Like, still see your shadows in my room.

00:03:58,958 --> 00:04:02,958

And then talking about, I love you and I hate you and replacing the girl.

00:04:02,958 --> 00:04:09,125

Yeah, it resonates with a lot of people going through a breakup or other emotional times.

00:04:09,208 --> 00:04:10,250

And he resonated well.

00:04:10,250 --> 00:04:14,416

Like he did a lot of good for a lot of people and you know, he had a whole future ahead of

him.

00:04:14,416 --> 00:04:19,083

The fact that he was able to help some people through some dark periods is to be commended.

00:04:19,083 --> 00:04:24,833

And it's hard just to see that, because he's helping them get through things, but you know, it's not necessarily helping himself.

00:04:24,833 --> 00:04:30,125

that's the dramatic irony or the duality of it is he inspiring millions while struggling

himself.

00:04:30,125 --> 00:04:32,458

He's given these a lot of younger folks an outlet.

00:04:32,458 --> 00:04:41,333

He was on talk shows talking about specifically the African American community, how

sometimes it's difficult to express your feelings or talk about mental health issues and

00:04:41,333 --> 00:04:43,375

have people take it more seriously.

00:04:43,375 --> 00:04:46,250

So that was a positive that hopefully came out of this.

00:04:49,291 --> 00:04:54,125

BooGie, for Juice WRLD Into the Abyss, would you bring this funky flick back or

leave it in the vault?

00:04:54,333 --> 00:05:04,666

This is a tough one because personally I would want to leave it in the vault and it's just

because I don't feel like I want to go through watching him go through these go through

00:05:04,666 --> 00:05:14,333

that again just knowing where it was headed but I think that if I knew a younger person I

was going through something I would show it to them and watch it with them and just kind

00:05:14,333 --> 00:05:21,666

of say hey you kind of like you know help them see if I can help them seek professional

help by saying look this is what could happen.

00:05:21,666 --> 00:05:27,000

But for me personally, I don't think I'd want to just watch it, but watch it again unless

I had to to help someone.

00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:28,875

So I'm going to leave it in the vault but I won't fully lock it.

00:05:30,875 --> 00:05:32,416

I'll leave it there just in case.

00:05:32,416 --> 00:05:33,166

Yeah.

00:05:34,541 --> 00:05:35,250

Alright.

00:05:35,416 --> 00:05:38,875

DynoWright for Juice WRLD into the Abyss.

00:05:38,875 --> 00:05:40,833

Bring that funky flick back or leave it in the vault.

00:05:40,833 --> 00:05:45,083

I will bring this funky flick back, but it really was a flawed film.

00:05:45,083 --> 00:05:49,541

It wasn't a satisfying documentary besides all of the slow motion dying.

00:05:49,583 --> 00:05:51,458

But it is, does serve as a good cautionary tale.

100

00:05:51,458 --> 00:05:54,000

And so in that it has its utility.

101

00:05:54,041 --> 00:05:55,541

So I'll bring this funky flick back, but.

102

00:05:55,541 --> 00:05:56,875

Yeah, I agree with BooGie.

103

00:05:56,875 --> 00:05:59,000

I don't know if I'd watch this again myself.

104

00:05:59,416 --> 00:06:00,500

It's rough.

105

00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:03,000

Yeah, bring funky flick back with an asterisk.

106

00:06:04,625 --> 00:06:08,666

I was like, oh could you just please like stabilize this camera, please?

107

00:06:10,291 --> 00:06:11,583

They have the technology.

108

00:06:11,583 --> 00:06:13,000

It existed in 2019.

109

00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:14,958

Just to stabilize the shot.

110

00:06:15,166 --> 00:06:16,041

ahhh

111

00:06:16,541 --> 00:06:18,958

It didn't have to be so herky jerky.

112

00:06:19,333 --> 00:06:20,333

I know.

113

00:06:20,416 --> 00:06:27,750

And I had a lot of questions about the providence of this footage, but bring this funky

flick back, guess.

114

00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:30,750

Yeah, definitely a tough one.

115

00:06:30,750 --> 00:06:32,625

uh I'm going to bring it, bring the funky flick back.

116

00:06:32,625 --> 00:06:38,375

But again, with the asterisk, just because it has the redeeming value of a cautionary

tale.

117

00:06:38,458 --> 00:06:41,125

If it can help people, it's worthwhile to leave it out there.

118

00:06:46,208 --> 00:06:52,250

Thank you for tuning in to Hip Hop Movie Club, the show for serious hip hop fans who want

to deepen their cultural knowledge.

119

00:06:52,250 --> 00:06:55,833

I'm DynoWright, filmmaker, designer, longtime hip hop fan.

120

00:06:55,833 --> 00:07:02,208

I recommend Tobi Lou, a Chicago rapper who also attended Homewood Flossmoor High School

like Juice WRLD.

121

00:07:02,208 --> 00:07:06,208

Especially if you're a fan of Adventure Time, check out the video for Buff Baby.

122

00:07:06,208 --> 00:07:10,375

I'm JB, 80s and 90s nostalgia junkie, long time Hip-Hop fan.

123

00:07:10,375 --> 00:07:17,791

And while I wasn't too familiar with Juice WRLD's catalog, I've acquired a taste for some

emo rap, especially the stylings of Kid Cudi, introduced to me by my son.

124

00:07:17,791 --> 00:07:23,125

In fact, Kid Cudi was his first concert a few years back, which I took him to, along with

some friends.

125

00:07:23,125 --> 00:07:24,833

I really enjoyed it and I've become a fan.

126

00:07:24,833 --> 00:07:25,625

Nice.

127

00:07:25,708 --> 00:07:27,583

I like some Kid Cudi, though.

128

00:07:27,791 --> 00:07:28,708

Yeah.

129

00:07:28,708 --> 00:07:31,833

And I'm Boogie, a DJ, long time hip hop fan.

130

00:07:31,833 --> 00:07:35,875

And like my shirt says, it was all a dream.

131

00:07:35,916 --> 00:07:37,375

Y'all know the rest.

132

00:07:39,958 --> 00:07:51,541

If you need free crisis counseling, you can text LF999 to 741-741 to reach the Crisis Text Line or go to LiveFree999.org for more resources.

133

00:07:51,541 --> 00:07:54,458

And remember, don't hate, intermediate.

134

00:07:55,583 --> 00:07:58,000

help others out that may need it.

135

00:07:58,625 --> 00:07:59,500

Yep.

136

00:07:59,500 --> 00:08:00,250

Yep.

137

00:08:00,250 --> 00:08:01,000

Don't stay silent.