Goodbye & Good Riddance

“Goodbye & Good Riddance” is the debut studio album by Chicago-area rapper Juice WRLD, released on May 23, 2018, through Grade A Productions and Interscope Records.

The story

Juice WRLD built his following on SoundCloud, and an early version of the project circulated there under a different, more pointed title aimed at a former partner. For the official release it was renamed and references to her were removed from the track list. Recorded across 2017 and 2018, the album is a breakup record about heartbreak, distrust and self-medication, and the artist said he wanted the music to help listeners through their own situations. Five singles were drawn from it, led by “All Girls Are the Same” and “Lucid Dreams,” followed by “Lean wit Me,” “Wasted” with Lil Uzi Vert and “Armed and Dangerous.”

Sound and production

Nick Mira handled most of the production, with further work from Taz Taylor, Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, Dre Moon, Cardo and others. The sound blends melodic trap with pop-punk emotion, and Lil Uzi Vert is the sole guest. “Lucid Dreams” is built on an interpolation of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart.”

Legacy

“Lucid Dreams” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, where it went on to log roughly 300 weeks. The RIAA certified it 5× Platinum by 2023. Juice WRLD died on December 8, 2019, at age 21, after a medical emergency at Chicago’s Midway Airport. Anniversary editions followed in 2021 and 2023, and Rolling Stone later ranked it among the greatest hip-hop albums.