While these albums were released nine years apart, they are both offering similar emotional releases for the people who listen. This isn’t to say that Juice WRLD is the next Kid Cudi, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say Juice was probably influenced by the latter. When Man on the Moon came out we were hearing something completely different than what was happening in rap at the time. It was a 15-track, grand masterpiece, performed by an extraterrestrial orchestra; with Cudi operating as conductor and narrator at the same time. He spoke of his deepest pains and struggles in a voice that was meant to help others with similar issues, while still finding time to celebrate these individual weaknesses as he does on “Up, Up, & Away.” Through our unique differences Cudi wanted us each to find our own swagger, and be proud of it.

Goodbye & Good Riddance follows this emotional pattern similarly. Heartbreak is at the core of the album, a theme Juice lays right out for us. The second track, “All Girls Are The Same,” is perfectly telling of the story here. As a high schooler, those people and that area become your world. Being in love, or being in “like” with someone at a young age is a big deal. If something goes wrong it can be Earth shattering in that moment. Juice captures the feeling of becoming numb; the sensation-less of moving through your days in such a mundane effort, all just to get through to tomorrow. Goodbye & Good Riddance isn’t just rap. It’s punk rock at the heart. This is the exact type of fuel, that as a freshman, I would have thrived on. At that age and in that system, you want to stick it to everybody. It’s the soundtrack for a damaged-heart rebellion.

Both of these albums touch on drug use and suicide in their own way. They also each create their own type of high just by listening; a way to self-medicate through song. I spent countless dark and late nights away in my room with “Soundtrack 2 My Life” on repeat. As a young male in small town Iowa, you weren’t really supposed to talk about feeling like this. You hid these emotions, and like Cudi sings about on the hook, no one could see those feelings except for you. These weren’t really the things we talked about at football or basketball practice. It’s eerily interesting to think about what it would be like, or what people would be like, if you weren’t around. But these albums also sit as a support system; they push you past those initial thoughts to find a courage within yourself, into an acceptance of being who you are.

Just as I blasted “Soundtrack 2 My Life” frequently, I understand how that’s the same fate for Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams.” Both songs feature choruses that echo pain far out into the night. It’s a heartbreaking ballad that rips you right in half; the way Juice belts out “Who knew evil girls had the prettiest face” makes for one of the most striking moments in today’s rap. There’s a certain beauty rooted in its sadness.

Another common denominator between the two albums is what can happen to us when the sun begins to go down. When that bell rings and the school day is over, it’s almost a release — a sense of freedom hits. You don’t need to hide your feelings from anyone in your room. Our demons are most present then; brought in by the contrast between the “Day ’n’ Nite” Cudi tells tales of, and the lingering shadows of past loves Juice can’t avoid.