To mark what would have been Juice WRLD’s 22nd birthday Wednesday, producer Benny Blanco shared “Real Shit,” a previously unreleased collaboration with the late rapper.
In a lengthy Instagram post that accompanied the release of the track, Blanco reminisced about first meeting Juice WRLD and recording with the rapper; “Real Shit” is the first-ever track the pair worked on.
“My friend played me a song like two or three years ago… I looked at him and said it was one of the best songs I had ever heard… My friend didn’t even know the artist’s name… Said it was Juice or something… I searched and searched on Instagram until I came across Juice’s page… he had 9k followers at the time…” Blanco wrote.
“I DMed him and said we had to work… he said he was coming to L.A. in a week and we could go in then… I booked us a studio… He didn’t even have a record deal…Labels were coming to the session all night trying to butter him up and offer him anything he wanted… He didn’t give a fuck… He just wanted to make music… We made like six songs the first night… one of them being ‘Roses’… the first song we ever recorded, though, was ‘Real Shit.’”
The “Real Shit” released Wednesday is an updated version of that original recording, with Dylan Brady of 100 Gecs, Cashmere Cat, Henry Kwapis, and Jack Karaszewski contributing to the production.
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The producer continued, “It was the first time I saw his magic… The whole room dropped their jaws and watched him in awe… We knew we were in the room with a man who was going to change music forever… He went in the booth and recorded a song top to bottom in one take… Then he did it three more times and said pick the best one… and they were all perfect songs… He was an absolute genius to say the least but above all, he was one of the kindest and most considerate people I have ever met… He was my friend… Happy Birthday, Juice… We miss you…”
Juice WRLD died of a drug-related seizure in December 2019 at the age of 21. Four months later, the rapper’s mother Carmela Wallace announced the establishment of the Live Free 999 Fund, which aims to support young people in their battles with anxiety, addiction, and depression.
From Rolling Stone US
