From The Weeknd to Juice WRLD : Hip Hop’s Obsession with Romantic Sad Dudes

Ever since the release of 808s and Heartbreak, there has been a growing number of though, yet sad guys singing about their romantic woes and their competing relationship with drugs Drake is a pioneer of the genre, but he never went to equals level of emotionalism has his Toronto counterpart Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd.

The crooner’s debut, House of Balloons, remains to this day a sulphurous patchwork of moody R&B atmospheres, oft-kilter samples and self-destructive sentiments. A few years later, Tesfaye made the unlikely jump from shadowy figure of the underground to full-blown pop star.

Today, rappers like Post Malone, Nav and Juice WRLD seem like heirs to the throne of the sad dudes singing about their feels. Loved, hated, mocked, adorned… They are controversial figures to the newer generation who blend the hardness of trap with the melodics of R&B.

It’s hard to pinpoint how Juice WRLD went so quickly from being an unknown rapper singing over type beats, to becoming one of the most streamed artists of 2018, but I have my theory.

His songs are uncomplicated and melodic. At a time when a lot of R&B can be either sophisticated to the point of being atonal, or dumbed down and really corny, having relatable lyrics sung over catchy beats is a great advantage.

Their romantic ideals are relatable to women, while their tortured nihilism appeal to the fellas. Also, with their warts-and-all approach, Post Malone and Juice WRLD don’t feel like fabrications of the music industry. When they sing about unrequited love and drugs, you believe them.

You believe Post Malone because is voice is raw and powerful. You believe Juice WRLD because his is authentic and unpolished. Both are a suitable model for regular millennials who don’t always see themselves in the pop icons put forward by the music industry.

Remember being in your teens, awkward and uncomfortable in your body. Didn’t you gravitate more towards weirdo musicians, and artists who had had relatable experiences?

If nothing else, this new generation of crooners are a proof that, in terms of demographics, women in need of romance and chubby, unhealthy young men have a lot of potential.