Why We’d Empty Out Our Pockets For mgk’s Cover Of Juice WRLD’s ‘Empty Out Your Pockets’

mgk has pretty much cemented his status as the king of covers over the years! Who could ever forget his take on Rise Against’s ‘Swing Life Away’ or his iconic Lockdown Sessions series during the pandemic? His latest offering in the cover department (including piano from Baze) is a fun twist on Juice WRLD’s posthumous track ‘Empty Out Your Pockets,’ with two extra additions, so smooth that it might take you a second to even register that he switched songs. 

Starting off with ‘Empty Out Your Pockets,’ Kells celebrates Juice WRLD’s legacy with some reflections on fame that remind us of his own songs that discuss similar topics – lines like “they be chameleons, they’ll change for some change” would feel right at home on a project like Hotel Diablo, while “get high then my memory gone” reminds us of ‘Burning Memories.’ Meanwhile, “I rock like electric guitars” feels like a mission statement for mgk, who has successfully dominated both rap and rock. It’s also a teaser of what’s to come later in the cover…

The first switch-up of this cover comes from mgk’s 2018 track ‘LATELY,’ which has long been one of our favorite songs on his BINGE EP! We totally freaked out when we realized he was taking us back. And then we freaked out again when we noticed the lyric he changed – he swapped out “Grew up a screw-up, pierced my ear and dyed my f*cking hair” for “Grew up a weirdo, 20 piercings and some bleached hair.” The new version acknowledges his growth and offers more compassion for his past self, refusing to call himself a “screw-up” and instead just noting that he was different from the people around him.

Next, we move into Green Day’s iconic ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams,’ and we love that the staple “I walk a lonely road” line ties into mgk’s ‘Lonely Road’ with Jelly Roll. Colson picks up his guitar for one epic conclusion that gives listeners space to think about how the three songs connect.

We think he may have chosen these songs together as a commentary on fame and how it’s impacted him over the years. First, ‘Empty Out Your Pockets’ talks about ingenuine people in the spotlight, much like Kells describes on songs like ‘Hollywood Wh*re.’ On ‘LATELY,’ we learn how “the way [he’s] living, sh*t get crazy dark.”  Ultimately, many celebrities are walking a lonely road even if they’re getting to pursue what they thought was their dream, possibly on Hollywood ‘Boulevard.’ As they live out their own ups and downs, the whole world is watching and casting their own judgements on them.

Give mgk some instruments and a few minutes and he’ll turn three seemingly unrelated songs into a thoughtful journey that will stick in your head after just one listen! He shared on Twitter that this will be the first cover in a series – do you have any predictions on what songs might come next? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! You can also buzz on over to our Reddit community to chat with us.

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