Released: 2018 • Features: Lil Uzi Vert
“Wasted” by Juice WRLD featuring Lil Uzi Vert is a gritty tale of love, drug use, and self-destruction. This introspective song captures the confusion and chaos of a turbulent relationship, where love is intermingled with substance abuse, and where reality is obfuscated by intoxication.
The repetitive chorus line, “Wasted, GTA love, bitches wasted,” taps into a youth culture deeply entwined with video games like Grand Theft Auto (GTA). Juice equates his tumultuous love life with the reckless, chaotic, and lawless world of GTA – where rules are broken and consequences are ignored.
“She do cocaine in my basement” and “I’m her doctor, but I’m runnin’ out of patience,” illustrate the nasty side of their relationship where addiction rules and patience for change wears thin. And when Juice raps, “She told me that she tryna get closer to Satan,” he denotes his lover’s spiraling descent into self-destruction, highlighting the grim reality of drug abuse and addiction.
With words like, “She Medusa with a little Pocahontas,” Juice paints a contradictory image of his lover – a deadly, mesmerizing femme fatale and a free-spirited, nature-loving innocent. This ongoing dichotomy underscores the complexity of their relationship, reflecting the delicate balance between love and loathing, care and indifference.
Lil Uzi Vert’s verse introduces a different perspective yet mirrors the sentiment expressed by Juice. His lyrics, “I don’t want the money, I just want the molly,” is a harsh reminder of how substance abuse can consume one’s life, eclipsing even the most fundamental human desires for success and stability.
The recurring theme of “wasted” not only refers to excessive substance use but also alludes to the wasted time and wasted lives consumed by addiction. The final lines of Juice WRLD’s verse, “She ain’t take my heart, but she took my medicine; Least somebody gon’ take it, hate to waste it,” reiterate this theme while revealing a twisted sense of misplaced affection.
Overall, “Wasted” is a sobering piece and an exploration of the darker side of love and obsession, where confusion between passion and toxic addiction reigns supreme. It’s a stark reminder that beneath the glitz and glamour of hip-hop culture, there are real stories of struggle and pain – real stories that resonate with listeners who may be navigating similar trials and tribulations.
