Death Race for Love includes the Nick Mira-produced lead single, "Robbery", which was released on February 13, and the Purps-produced "Hear Me Calling", which was released on March 1. While the album received a generally lukewarm response from critics, it was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning 165,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It became Juice Wrld's first US number-one album. In October 2021, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
On February 7, 2019, Juice Wrld announced the album on Twitter, writing: "I'm losing my mind and loving every minute of it... Just in time for the drop of the album... MARCH 8th..."[4] On February 20, Juice Wrld revealed that he would be headlining a North America concert tour in support of the album with fellow rapper Ski Mask the Slump God.[5] On March 4, he revealed the official tracklist for the album.[6] Juice Wrld appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform "Hear Me Calling" on April 8.[7]
The album's lead single, "Robbery", was released on February 13, 2019. The song was produced by Nick Mira and peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[8][9][10] The album's second single, "Hear Me Calling", was released on March 1, 2019. The song was produced by Purps and peaked at number 38 on the Hot 100 following the album's release.[11][10]
Death Race for Love was met with a mixed reception. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 61, based on 11 reviews.[14] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 5.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.[13]
Reviewers generally praised the album's sound and blend of genres. Thomas Hobbs of NME gave a positive 4 star (out of 5) review, stating "Juice Wrld is far less indulgent than XXX[Tentacion], not getting lost in the idea that he's a messianic creative. This will be the moment that solidifies his status as one of rap's most exciting new stars".[19] Scott Glaysher of HipHopDX gave the album a 3.9 out of 5, and argued that; "Genre-blending albums (no matter how commonplace they might be these days) are not easy to pull off and for that, Juice Wrld should be given credit. From the seemingly sincere lyrics to the equally candid delivery, Juice truly goes with his gut in whichever way (rap, sing, hum, sob)".[17]
Most reviewers, however, took issues with the album's length and what was seen as poor writing, even in positive reviews. Pitchfork's Alphonse Pierre wrote, "Fifty percent of the lyrics are bad ("Back on my bullshit, devil emoji") and the other 50 percent are also bad, but then they get stuck in your head and ultimately turn good ("Tell me your darkest secret shit you wouldn't even tell Jesus"). ... Death Race For Love feels like the real Juice Wrld, wearing his influences and heart on his sleeve, putting his ups and downs into the music in real time", and gave the album a 6.8 out of 10.[20] Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone said in his 3 and half star (out of 5) review that, "Death Race succeeded in its most fundamental mission, which was to prove that "Lucid Dreams" was not a fluke. Songs like "Fast", "Ring, Ring", "Hear Me Calling" strike a dynamic balance of raw charisma and profound anxiety... While his melodrama tends to grow old over the course of a 22-track, 72-minute album, it is captivating in small doses".[23]The Guardian's Kate Hutchinson stated: "It's slim on features (only Young Thug, Clever and Brent Faiyaz) but big on misanthropic head-nodders that put Juice's Fall Out Boy-style whine or raspy flow to the fore: he is more versatile than his peers and also more gifted... But ultimately, the suicide references of songs such as Empty and casual misogyny in the tauntingly violent Syphilis leave an uncomfortable taste.", and gave the album 3 stars out of 5.[3] Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews said at the end of his 6.5 out of 10 review that while he enjoyed the "catchy tunes" at times, that it was "hard to call them rap songs and even harder to ignore the subtext that drugs are both the cause of and solution to his problems. Irresponsible abuse of powerful narcotics or prescription medications solves nothing. It's easy to pretend Juice WRLD is just a fiction [sic] character Jarad Higgins portrays for the sake of music, but too many of his peers have died over the years for me to safely assume it's all just a gimmick."[22]
PopMatters critic Mike Schiller said, "The ratio of bangers to duds...is not great, and Death Race for Love feels an awful lot like an unabridged teenage diary; while the occasional clever turn of phrase and moment of profundity is sure to bubble up, most of it is simple self-indulgence, an onslaught of pure emotion whose sincerity is never in question, but all of which starts to blur together after a mere few pages or songs".[21] Fred Thomas was also critical of the album in the review for AllMusic, stating "There's no shortage of highlights, but the lack of editing or focus means every song goes on a little too long and leads to another one that struggles to connect stylistically or emotionally".[15]
Death Race for Love debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 165,000 album-equivalent units (including 43,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[29] This became Juice Wrld's first US number-one album.[29] In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, moving an additional 74,000 units.[30] In its third week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, earning another 54,000 units.[31] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number five on the chart, earning 44,000 more units.[32] As of May 2019, the album has earned 515,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[33] On October 29, 2021, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States.[34]
^Leight, Elias (March 26, 2019). "Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Was a Country Hit. Then Country Changed Its Mind". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019. Much of Juice WRLD's Death Race for Love is textbook rock and roll, awash in guitars. It will probably be the most commercially successful rock album of 2019.
