Benny Blanco says he's not the type to seek out opportunities to appear onstage in front of tens of thousands of people.
But that's exactly what the producer and songwriter did last December at the Rolling Loud festival in Los Angeles, where Blanco — known for his behind-the-scenes work with superstars such as Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and Halsey — took part in a kind of public memorial for his friend Juice Wrld just a week after the singer and rapper's death at age 21 from an accidental drug overdose.
"It was overwhelming," Blanco, 32, recalled of the event that had him leading an enormous audience through shout-along renditions of several of the throbbing emo-rap songs, including "Roses" and "Black & White," that he helped create with Juice Wrld. "Juice moved so many kids with his music — with the things he needed to get off his chest. And that night they were hurting.
"I just wanted to do my best to support them and to support his legacy."
A year later, he's still doing that: To mark what would've been Juice Wrld's 22nd birthday, Blanco dropped a new track called "Real S _" on Wednesday showcasing the rapper's yelpy flow and frankly confessional lyrics. It's the latest in a string of posthumous releases for Juice Wrld, whose blockbuster 2020 LP "Legends Never Die" propelled him to No. 1 on Spotify's list of the year's most-streamed artists in the U.S.
Blanco discussed his late collaborator — and Juice Wrld's vexing absence from last week's Grammy nominations — in a phone call Wednesday afternoon.
