Back in 2020, Eminem released “Godzilla,” the first-ever track with a posthumous feature from Juice WRLD, who died of an accidental overdose at the age of 21 in December of the previous year. Now comes a second collaboration, “Lace It,” which landed over the weekend and quickly rose to the upper reaches of the Genius Top Songs chart.
Produced by benny blanco, who worked with Juice several times during the Chicago rapper’s tragically short life, “Lace It” is a song about the horrors of substance abuse. Over a gray storm-cloud beat, Juice opens the song with a chorus explaining his propensity for self-medication.
Roll it up, lace it, pop a few to chase it
I’m in my own Matrix, none of this shit makes sense
All these humans basic, don’t got no home trainin’
Codeine by the cases, I’ve been purple rainin’
In the opening verse, Juice alludes to the mental health struggles that have him reaching for prescription pill bottles.
Stressed out, so I tend to take meds (Take meds)
The Devil told me, “Good show, break a leg” (Break a leg)
All these painkillers like I got a pair of broken legs (Broken legs)
All these Percs I pop, you’d thought I was plannin’ to break my neck
Eminem is no stranger to prescription drug addiction. He got sober in 2008 after a near-fatal overdose, so his verse comes straight from the heart. In his opening lines, Em reflects on how things can spiral out of control, much like they did for him after his best friend Proof was killed in 2006.
You pop some ecstasy first, it gets progressively worse
Try your best to reverse unsuccessfully flirtin' with certain death and revertin’ to your promethazine urge
The fuckin’ devil he lurks, lose your best friend he smirks
As the verse progresses, Eminem describes the hell of chemical dependency. It gets to the point where you need pills to do the thing you used to love more than anything.
The blessing or the curse of fame ’cause now you can afford the syrup
Percocet and Percoden but that ain’t what you meant when you said that you’re in it for the perks
Develop a habit out of that
Need a Xanax now to rap
So you pop it before you record a verse
Toward the end of his verse, Eminem catalogs some of the rappers we’ve lost to drugs over the years, among them Shock G of Digital Underground, Lil Peep, and Ol' Dirty Bastard.
Fentanyl, Oxy
Demerol, dem are all what possibly got Shock G, Roxy
Codone and lean is probably what got Lil Peep and ODB
So many who OD be way to young to go see me
And the list goes on. Even seemingly superhuman figures like Prince and Michael Jackson are no match for the pills. Eminem doesn’t want to come across as some cranky old scold, but he rather not eulogize any more young artists like Juice WRLD, whose real name was Jarad Higgins.
Tried to kill me then you murdered Jarad didn’t you
Piece of shit thanks to you now we lost Gangsta Boo and Pimp C, Prince and Michael mixing Nyquil
With prescription Vic’s addiction’s like a fucking vicious cycle
Juice we will forever miss you
To the younger generation I ain’t lecturing you but man just be
careful when you…
“Lace It” is due to appear on the posthumous Juice WRLD album The Party Never Ends, scheduled next year. In a statement, the late rapper’s mother, Carmela Wallace, reminisced about her son’s love for Eminem.
“I can recall Jarad playing Eminem’s music on repeat at home because he was a huge fan,” she said. “This is a bittersweet moment for me; I am happy that Jarad had a chance to make music with someone he admired and sad that he cannot be here to take in the moment; Jarad left us way too soon.”
You can read all the lyrics to “Lace It” on Genius now.
