Zane Lowe is on a roll lately with his picks for World Record. The New Zealand-born British DJ has sprung some of hip-hop’s preeminent up-and-comers and comeback tales on the public with his Beats 1 Radio show in recent weeks, from Lil Pump’s outrageous “Racks On Racks” to YBN Cordae’s flirty “Locationships.” Today, he premiered another young favorite’s newest single, making Juice Wrld‘s “Robbery” his World Record of the day.
“Robbery” is an emotive, stripped-down piano ballad that puts all of Juice’s trademark melancholy and tongue-in-cheek humor on display. The “robbery” in the title refers to his stolen heart, of course, and he stretches his vocal talents to their limit lamenting his both his lost love and the effect its had on him. The subject matter is familiar to anyone who’s heard Juice’s various forays into the emo rap crooning style he’s leaned into since his song “Lucid Dreams” blew up streaming services last year.
Most recently, he dove even deeper into his sad-kid influences, collaborating with Panic! At The Disco on his last single, “Roses.” It’s unclear if “Roses,” “Robbery,” or his more traditionally tough single “Armed And Dangerous,” will appear on his sophomore album dropping this March, but he’s certainly given his fans plenty of fodder for their cuffing season breakup playlists.
For even more sad rappers, check out the “Emo Blueface” meme that imagines the gangsta rapper as a late-00s scenester.
