“Lucid Dreams” by Juice WRLD was the song that gave him mainstream exposure with the help of his unique mix of rap and emo elements. He creates an emotionally charged soundscape while maintaining hip hop elements such as a booming 808 for drums to create the bass. There is a sad guitar melody looped throughout the whole song. This combined with Juice WRLD’s emotional delivery create the emo element and vibe of the song. This shows the evolution of hip hop since emo rap is a more modern form of hip hop. This was able to explode so quickly due to the Soundcloud era of rap. This has influenced many current artists in the way they create music and how vulnerable they get.
The song itself uses technology and studio production to create that mood. There is auto-tune used on the vocals and at certain points in the song the voice is manipulated. This manipulation adds to this dreamlike feeling of the song and adds emotional value. This mix of rap, emo, and at times pop elements also help the reach of the song. Modern technology in music production and the expansion of genres of music combined help breed new forms of music that cross genres. This can be seen in other genres as well for example Morgan Wallen a popular country artist sometimes puts 808s in his music a common hip hop element.