The only reason Kodak Black worked with Juice WRLD
For his second album, 2018’s Dying to Live, Kodak Black recruited the services of Juice WRLD for the track ‘Moshpit.’ But he didn’t ask for Juice WRLD’s help because he was a fan. His rationale was a little more cynical than that.
‘Moshpit’ was released as the second single from Dying to Live, and it saw the two rappers expressing a desire to spark a moshpit into life. Littered with pop references, the verses were about partying and living wild lifestyles.
The result received a mixed reaction upon its release. Some critics liked ‘Moshpit,’ others did not. As for the negative reviews, there was a sense in which the song was cobbled together somewhat. The men rapping on it didn’t seem totally committed.
This, in turns out, was true, at least when it came to Kodak Black. During an interview on 103.5 The Beat following the release of Dying to Live, Kodak admitted that he brought several guest stars onto the album, not because he necessarily liked them or thought they’d suit the music, but because he knew that they’d help bring in more listeners.
He specifically singled out Juice WRLD in this regard. “I got a song called ‘Moshpit’ with Juice WRLD, just for like the streaming people,” he admitted.
This sort of thing goes on all the time. Collaborations are concocted in order to boost a particular single or album, but, usually, the artists involved aren’t quite so open about the artless, business-focused rationale of the practice. But Kodak didn’t seem to care about hiding the truth.
He even went so far as to admit that he didn’t even particularly like the song he and Juice WRLD made together. “It’s not really my favourite,” he said, “but I know it’s gon’ stream. People gon’ eat that up.”
Juice WRLD wasn’t the only person Kodak worked with on the album in order to boost its listening figures. The song ‘Gnarly,’ which featured Lil Pump, seems to have been created specifically with streaming in mind, too. “Like, with Lil Pump, I would never really work with him,” Kodak said, “but I did it, and it’s gon’ stream.”
This is often the nature of contemporary popular music. Commercial logic can, at times, trump that of the artistic. But, seemingly, that’s what listeners want. When people see that two artists they like have collaborated, they’re liable to listen. The numbers prove it.