It’s been less than a week since news broke about Juice WRLD’s untimely passing. Carmella Wallace, Juice WRLD’s mother, has released a statement regarding her son’s death. Juice WRLD, whose real name is Jarad Higgins, died after suffering a seizure at Chicago’s Midway Airport this past Sunday. He had just celebrated his 21st birthday 4 days prior.
“We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been cut short,” Wallace told TMZ. “As he often addressed in his music and to his fans, Jarad battled with prescription drug dependency. Addiction knows no boundaries and its impact goes way beyond the person fighting it. Jarad was a son, brother, grandson, friend and so much more to so many people who wanted more than anything to see him defeat addiction.”
There is still no official report on what caused the seizure, but through his lyrics and interviews, Higgins was very transparent about his opioid dependency. During one of those interviews, the rapper revealed to Rolling Stone Magazine that he was attempting sobriety earlier this year.“As long as you’re strong within yourself, nobody can influence or affect you. As long as you’re strong within yourself, it don’t matter.”
Higgins is just one of many young people, musicians in particular, who struggle with similar issues. His mother hopes that his shocking death will help those young people. “We hope the conversations he started in his music and his legacy will help others win their battles as that is what he wanted more than anything. We know that Jarad’s legacy of love, joy and emotional honesty will live on.”
Shortly after the news broke of Higgin’s passing, it was revealed that authorities searched his luggage for contraband. This search, which was conducted at Midway airport, occurred just before Higgins began to convulse and seize. 41 bags of a substance suspected to be marijuana and bottles of suspected liquid codeine were produced from luggage from his private jet. None of the plane’s passengers claimed the luggage.
Two airport agents responded to Higgins’ seizure by administering Narcan, a drug that counteracts opioid overdoses, and promptly called an ambulance. According to his girlfriend who was present at the time of the seizure, Higgins took Percocet and had a drug problem. It has not been confirmed whether drugs play a role in his death.
Juice WRLD was a star with a promising career. He gathered a huge following with his catchy tunes including “Lucid Dreams”, was the most reposted, liked, and streamed artist of 2018 according to Soundcloud, and was named Top New Artist at the 2019 Billboard Awards.
“Juice made a profound impact on the world in such a short period of time,” his label, Interscope Records, said in a statement. “He was a gentle soul, whose creativity knew no bounds, an exceptional human being and artist who loved and cared for his fans above everything else.”
BREAKING: Chicago Rapper Juice WRLD Dead At 21
21-year-old rising Chicago rapper Juice WRLD was pronounced dead this morning, Sunday, December 9, 2019, after experiencing a medical emergency at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
Juice WRLD, born Jarad Anthony Higgins and known for topping the album charts this year with his acclaimed work Death Race for Love, was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead as first reported by TMZ. The Cook County medical examiner confirmed Higgin’s death to the New York Times.
Emergency crews arrived at Midway International Airport around 3:30 A.M. after Higgins experienced an unknown “medical issue”, according to the Chicago Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
It was later confirmed by the Chicago Police Department that Higgins suffered a medical emergency shortly after getting off a private jet. An autopsy has yet to be performed, but Higgins reportedly suffered a seizure just seven days after celebrating his 21st birthday.
“A 21-year-old male suffered a medical emergency and was transferred to [Advocate Christ Medical Center] in Oak Lawn where he was pronounced dead,” a rep for the Chicago Police Department told Rolling Stone Magazine.
The authorities would not identify the male as the investigation was still pending. No cause of death was provided.
In just two years, Juice WRLD was able to make his mark on the music industry, landing three chart-topping albums. After his breakout single, All Girls Are the Same, he made his 2018 album debut with Goodbye & Good Riddance, which wowed fans with the unexpected Hot 100 hit Lucid Dreams.
Following that he released a collaborative mixtape with fellow rapper, Future. This mixtape, WRLD on Drugs, peaked at Number 2 on album charts.
Upon learning of Higgins’ death, fellow musicians took to social media to pay homage to the young talent, who had a very promising career ahead of him. Please keep his family in your prayers at this time.