What song predicted the death of Chicago rapper Juice WRLD? And what group sued the young
rapper just a few months before he died? Keep watching to learn that and more about the
young star.
Chicago rapper Juice WRLD would have been celebrating his 23rd birthday later this year,
were it not for his untimely death in 2019, when he passed away at just 21 years old.
The rapper was aboard a plane from California to Illinois and suffered a seizure at Chicago's
Midway airport upon landing. He was later pronounced dead, shocking the music industry
and fans. The artist was on the rise as an up-and-coming young rapper, but his promising
career was tragically cut short.
A month after he passed, the Cook County Medical Examiner revealed that his death was an accidental
overdose caused by use of codeine and oxycodone. Juice WRLD, who was born Jarad Anthony Higgins
on December 2, 1998, joined the long list of American musicians who have died from drug
overdoses.
While his death came as a surprise to many, some of his most loyal fans were probably
not too taken aback by the news. The rapper often spoke about his drug use in his music,
and he even eerily predicted his death in his 2018 song "Legends."
Some of the now infamous lyrics of that song spoke about the rapper's desire to die young,
and create a new and younger club of fallen entertainers. The lyrics included lines like
these:
"All legends fall in the making
Sorry truth, dying young, demon youth
What's the 27 Club?
We ain't making it past 21"
The song would subsequently chart a few weeks after his death.
He also spoke about his mental health in his music. In his first chart-topping hit, "Lucid
Dreams," the rapper, who was also a singer, won over a lot of fans with the song about
heartbreak.
"Even before I started recording music, like a long time ago, just listening to it was
therapy."
It was this song that placed him on the map, helping introduce many people to his music.
The popularity of it earned him a spot to perform at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.
Just a few months before he died, Juice WRLD's blossoming career took a slightly tragic blow.
Not everyone was a fan of his successful song. In October 2019, rock band Yellowcard hit
him and his team with a $15 million lawsuit. They filed the suit claiming copyright infringement
and alleged that his song "Lucid Dreams" copied the melody from the band's 2006 song "Holly
Wood Died." Even after his unfortunate death, it seemed like the lawsuit would proceed.
But Yellowcard eventually decided to drop the suit against his estate after his death,
citing discomfort in proceeding with a lawsuit against an estate being managed by Juice WRLD's
grieving mother.
And that wasn't the only blow he got for that song. The song had also sampled British rocker
Sting's 1993 song "Shape of My Heart." And Sting was reportedly collecting 85% of the
song's royalties, according to the NY Post. Even though he had to share a very small portion
of royalties with the rocker, Juice WRLD told NME it didn't faze him. He said in an interview
that he didn't care about the money, adding,
"Money is gonna come regardless. If you doin' this for money, people gonna be able to tell.
For me [it's more important that] Sting said my music is beautiful, the fact that he performed
my version of the song."
Naturally, after his early death, it was presumed that the rapper regularly used prescription
drugs. His own mother, Carmella Wallace, later revealed that Juice WRLD was indeed suffering
from addiction, when she released a statement to TMZ a few days after he passed, saying,
"We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been
cut short. As he often addressed in his music and to his fans, Jarad battled with prescription
drug dependency."
Wallace also said in a television interview that Juice WRLD had mental health issues,
and he used music as a way to express himself.
"Jarad fought with anxiety and depression."
Juice WRLD, like many other rappers, often glorified the recreational use of prescription
drugs like percocet, xanax, and opioids. Sometimes artists also praised using these drugs with
marijuana and alcohol, and potent mixtures like lean — a liquid codeine cocktail. The
addictive mixture is said to cause its users to feel high, dizzy, and even have seizures.
The rapper's autopsy showed that he had codeine in his system.
The rapper talked a lot about using drugs in his music, and his addiction was an illness
that he was apparently aware of and even ready to seek out help for. In an interview with
DJ Vlad, Lil Bibby, who signed Juice WRLD to his label, Grade A Productions, shared
that before his death, Juice WRLD agreed to go to rehab.
He explained that after learning that Juice WRLD was regularly ingesting upwards of four
doses of percocet pills in one sitting, he raised the alarm because he had never heard
of someone taking that much at once.
"I found out he was doing like four, you know what I'm saying?” "Four, four what?" "Pills."
He told DJ Vlad,
"I get to telling people like, 'Look we got to send this kid to rehab.' I'm telling everyone
because I'm thinking 'That's a lot.' Because all people I know only do at the max one."
"We already had him signed up for rehab, and he already agreed to go."
Despite signing up for rehab, Juice WRLD said he wouldn't stop his use of the drug, and
would only lower his dosage.
Sadly, he would never get a chance to get rehabilitative assistance for his addiction.
It seemed like his short time in the music industry saw quite a few legal ups and downs.
He was still able to enjoy a lot of recognition. But like too many other fallen rappers, he
became even more famous after death. His song "Lucid Dreams" would move up to the top of
the charts, and streaming sites like Apple and Spotify saw an increase in listeners,
according to USA Today.
"It was almost like I couldn't believe it was happening."
Even though his death stunned the music world and brought attention to the dangers of drug
abuse, many fans think he didn't get the memorials or honor he deserved. Juice WRLD was signed
to Interscope in 2018, and that same year and the following, he released two albums.
His songs were charting and he saw a high level of success after being signed for less
than two years.
"This is your world. You can do whatever you want to do."
But according to Forbes, the 2020 Grammy Awards ceremony did not properly recognize his contributions
to music.
The day Juice WRLD suffered his fatal seizure, authorities were also on the way to search
the plane that he was on, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The rapper and
his entourage apparently had illegal guns and drugs aboard, and officials were tipped
off by the plane's pilot. When the plane landed in Chicago, FBI and FAA agents were waiting
to search the plane. Juice WRLD swallowed a large amount of the opioid Percocet in an
attempt to hide the medication from the authorities. His state of panic would have deadly consequences.
Juice WRLD likely suffered his medical episode as a result of swallowing the fatal dosage
of drugs and went into cardiac arrest before being taken to the hospital where he died.
Authorities did recover marijuana and firearms in their search, and arrested two of his acquaintances.
The FBI allegedly began their search of his plane and belongings just before he started
having a seizure. In their own attempt to save him, agents administered two doses of
Narcan. The rapper was briefly conscious but in a daze. He was transported to a hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
Rapper Lil Bibby also would share one of the many tragic up-and-downs the young rapper
faced in his career. Juice WRLD's hit "Lucid Dreams" was also one of his most controversial.
The song attracted a lot of attention because an overwhelmingly large amount of its royalties
were not even going to the rapper or his record label. Most of it was going to Sting.
In his sit-down interview with DJ Vlad after Juice WRLD's death, Lil Bibby explained that
things would've been different if paperwork was done on time. According to him, during
the final stages of the paperwork procedure, the song was already released and picking
up streams. The incomplete documentation and the release of the song ahead of finalization
led to Sting being able to profit 85% of its royalties.
Despite Juice WRLD himself coming to terms with the decision, Lil Bibby told DJ Vlad
that Sting should donate a portion of the percentage that he receives, saying,
"He's gotta donate some money to mom's charity. That was a huge hit."
“Yeah, we gotta, I gotta shake, um, shake Sting down, man."
Oftentimes when an artist dies, some of their unreleased music is eventually released some
point after their death, and Juice WRLD is one of those artists. A few months after he
died, a deluxe version of his debut album was released. Shortly after, his management
team released his third album, titled Legends Never Die, in July 2020. It was the first
posthumous album to come out under his name. Then this summer, it was announced that another
project, titled The Party Never Ends, was expected to be released. But there was a slight
delay and nothing came out that year. However, in late 2021, his fans finally got an answer
regarding new Juice WRLD music. On December 9, 2021 his second posthumous album and fourth
studio album, Fighting Demons, was released. It came out a day after the second anniversary
of his death.
It's unclear how many more Juice WRLD projects will be released, but this fall, Lil Bibby
announced a documentary along with the new music. Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss is an HBO
film showcasing footage of the rapper's life and interviews with people close to him, premiering
December 16th.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's
National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).