Hate The Other Side (with Marshmello & The Kid Laroi)

"Hate The Other Side" is a poignant and gritty exploration of the harsh realities of street life, loyalty, and the psychological toll of survival. The central theme, articulated in the chorus, is the learned mentality to "love my brothers and to hate the other side." This isn't just about rivalry; it's a deeply ingrained survival code born from environments where territorial disputes and gang culture are prevalent. The song delves into the emotional conflict experienced by the artists: the constant pain in their hearts, a result of trauma and loss, which they try to numb with an obsessive focus on making money. Each artist provides a verse that builds on this theme. Juice WRLD's chorus is a heartbreaking admission of his inner turmoil. Polo G details his upbringing in Chicago, referencing losing gang members and the betrayal that leaves scars. The Kid LAROI, Juice's protégé, speaks on his own experiences with loss and the feeling of having been 'to hell and back.' The song is a collective reflection on emerging from hardship, where success is a means of escape, but the memories and the pain of the past remain inescapable.

The song is a raw and introspective exploration of a life defined by conflict, loyalty, and the psychological weight of survival. It opens with Juice WRLD's poignant chorus, establishing the central theme of a heart filled with pain juxtaposed against a mind consumed by the pursuit of money. This isn't just about financial gain; it's presented as a coping mechanism, a way to numb the constant emotional distress. The lyrics immediately introduce a world of imminent danger, where violence is a tangible threat, symbolized by putting a laser sight ('beam') on a gun ('glizzy') and the stark warning not to get caught in the crossfire. The memory of a past violent act, where an adversary was shot 'between the eyes,' underscores the brutal reality of this existence. The act of rolling problems, and even a fallen adversary ('your mans'), into a Backwood cigar and smoking it is a powerful, dark metaphor for trying to dissipate trauma and assert dominance over it.

Polo G's verse adds a layer of street-level authenticity and personal history. He speaks of the emotional numbness that comes from losing friends to gang violence, admitting he 'can't act cool' in the face of such loss. His tattoos serve as 'gang scriptures,' a permanent testament to his affiliations and experiences. He paints a vivid picture of his past, running from the police and struggling to make money just to eat, before blossoming into a 'tycoon.' However, this success doesn't erase the past; he's haunted by the 'stab wounds' of betrayal, a pain that is both literal and metaphorical. His verse firmly roots the song in the specific context of Chicago, a city known for its gun violence, and reinforces the theme of survival at all costs.

The Kid LAROI, Juice WRLD's protégé, continues the narrative from a place of shared pain and burgeoning success. His verse is a torrent of emotion, grappling with the loss of his uncle and the recurring trauma that has left him feeling like he's been to 'hell and back a couple hundred times.' He asserts his own toughness and readiness for conflict, stating he's not hard to find for those looking for trouble, and his crew is ready to ride for him. Despite the bravado, there's a deep vulnerability as he describes his heart still trying to recover from a lifetime of pain. He speaks of trying to 'get by' while battling memories that 'lay deep inside' and creep up on his mind, highlighting the internal struggle that accompanies the external one.

Throughout the song, the recurring hook acts as an anchor, reinforcing the core message: 'I was taught to love my brothers and to hate the other side.' This line is the thesis of the track, explaining the ingrained, cyclical nature of the violence and loyalty depicted. It's not presented as a choice but as a learned way of life, a code passed down in an environment where survival depends on unshakeable allegiance to one's own and absolute opposition to rivals. The combination of Juice WRLD's melodic, pain-filled chorus with the harder-edged, narrative verses from Polo G and The Kid LAROI creates a multi-faceted portrait of a world where emotional turmoil, the pursuit of wealth, and the constant threat of violence are inextricably linked.

"Hate The Other Side" was released on July 10, 2020, as the ninth track on Juice WRLD's first posthumous album, Legends Never Die. The song features collaborations with producer Marshmello, fellow Chicago rapper Polo G, and Australian rapper The Kid LAROI. The track was written by the four main artists (Jarad Higgins, Christopher Comstock, Taurus Bartlett, Charlton Howard) along with David Lynn Moody and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (also known as KSHMR). Marshmello handled the production, creating a guitar-driven trap beat that provides a somber yet energetic backdrop for the rappers. The collaboration was a natural one, as Juice WRLD had worked with all the featured artists previously. He and Polo G were friends who had collaborated on Polo's track "Flex". The Kid LAROI was mentored by Juice WRLD, who had supported him on tour in Australia. The song's creation is part of the larger project of assembling Legends Never Die after Juice WRLD's death in December 2019, with his team compiling and finishing existing recordings. A visualizer for the song, directed by Ricky Yee, was released, featuring the artist David Garibaldi painting portraits of the four musicians.

"Hate The Other Side" utilizes a compelling and rhythmic structure that complements its trap foundations. The song is set at a moderate tempo, allowing each artist's lyrical delivery to be clear and impactful. The primary rhythm is driven by Marshmello's production, featuring the characteristic chattering hi-hats, sharp snares, and a deep, resonant bass line typical of the trap genre. The lyrical rhythm varies between the artists. Juice WRLD's chorus employs a melodic, flowing cadence that glides over the beat, emphasizing the emotional core of the song. His rhyme scheme is relatively straightforward, with couplets like "times"/"mind" and "lines"/"eyes", making the hook incredibly memorable. Polo G's verse features a more complex, narrative-driven rhythm with internal rhymes and assonance (e.g., "Bougie off the ecstasy, I might act rude, uh / I lost gang members, I can't act cool, uh"). This creates a conversational yet percussive flow. The Kid LAROI's verse has a more urgent, staccato rhythm, with lines often ending in forceful delivery, mirroring the raw emotion in his lyrics. The interplay between the sorrowful guitar loop and the aggressive, syncopated drum patterns creates a powerful tension that defines the song's overall feel.

The song employs a range of stylistic techniques to achieve its emotional and narrative depth. Musically, it's built on a guitar-driven trap beat produced by Marshmello, which combines a melancholic, melodic element with sharp, energetic percussion, creating a sound that is both gloomy and bouncing. This production creates a 'four-lane highway' for the artists to deliver their distinct vocal styles. The song's structure relies on the powerful contrast between Juice WRLD's melodic, sung-rap chorus and the more traditional, hard-hitting rap verses from Polo G and The Kid LAROI. Juice's delivery is filled with a sense of heartbreak and pain, while Polo G offers an introspective, narrative-driven flow detailing street life. The Kid LAROI's verse is marked by a raw, high-energy delivery that conveys palpable emotion and pain. Lyrically, the song uses vivid street slang (e.g., 'glizzy,' 'choppa,' 'Backwood') to establish authenticity and ground the narrative in a specific cultural context. The use of repetition in the chorus, particularly the lines "I got pain in my heart" and "money on my mind," drills the central conflict into the listener's head.

"Hate The Other Side" made a significant cultural impact upon its release, largely due to its inclusion on Juice WRLD's highly anticipated posthumous album, Legends Never Die. The song debuted and peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Juice WRLD's eighth top-ten entry. It was a milestone for the other featured artists as well, marking the first top-ten hit for both Polo G and The Kid LAROI at the time. The track was a standout on the album, praised for its powerful collaboration and the seamless blend of the artists' different styles over Marshmello's production. Its success contributed to Legends Never Die achieving a historic debut, matching chart records for a posthumous album. The song resonated deeply with fans, who saw it as an authentic expression of the themes of pain, loyalty, and struggle that were central to Juice WRLD's music. The visualizer, featuring performance painter David Garibaldi, also garnered attention for its unique and respectful tribute to the artists. The song remains a key track in Juice WRLD's posthumous discography, emblematic of his influence on the emo-rap and trap genres and his ability to articulate the complex emotions of a generation.

The lyrics of "Hate The Other Side" are rich with symbolism and street-level metaphors that paint a vivid picture of the artists' world.

• "Rolling problems in a Backwood": This is a recurring metaphor used by Juice WRLD. It symbolizes the act of packaging up trauma, stress, and even the memory of fallen enemies into a consumable form (like a blunt) to be burned and dissipated, representing a temporary escape or assertion of dominance over pain.
• "Beam on the glizzy": 'Glizzy' is slang for a Glock handgun, and the 'beam' refers to a laser sight. This isn't just a literal description of a weapon; it symbolizes precision in violence and the ever-present readiness for lethal conflict. Getting caught 'between the lines' refers to the dangerous middle ground in street disputes.
• "Betrayal scars... stab wounds": Polo G uses this to refer to the deep and lasting pain of disloyalty. While it could allude to physical violence, it more powerfully represents the emotional and psychological damage inflicted by those who were once trusted, a wound that doesn't easily heal.
• "Gang scriptures in my tattoos": This phrase from Polo G's verse portrays his tattoos as more than just ink; they are a sacred text, a permanent record of his life, losses, and allegiance within his gang. It elevates street life to a form of religion with its own codes and histories written on the body.

The most significant recurring motif in the song is the chorus, which acts as the thematic anchor. The lines "I got pain in my heart, I told you a hundred times / But it's money, money, money, money, money on my mind" are repeated multiple times, hammering home the central conflict between emotional suffering and the desperate pursuit of wealth as a distraction or solution. This phrase encapsulates the core of the artists' struggle. Another crucial recurring line is, "I was taught to love my brothers and to hate the other side." This line, appearing at the end of the chorus, serves as the song's thesis, explaining the origin of the conflict and loyalty that defines their lives. It's presented not as a choice but as a learned doctrine. The imagery of putting problems or people in a "Backwood" and putting it "in the sky" is also a key recurring motif within Juice WRLD's section, symbolizing a repeated, ritualistic attempt to deal with trauma through consumption and dismissal.