It’s a sad time for the music industry, as once again a young artist who was full of potential passes away. Jarad Anthony Higgins, better known as his stage name, Juice Wrld, passed away on December 8th from a seizure at a Chicago airport. 

Jarad made music that influenced a lot of people, including many teenagers. From his more well known songs like All Girls are the Same and Lucid Dreams, to some songs only the true fans know like, Ring Ring, feat. Clever or Graduation feat. Benny Blanco, these songs gave fans a sense of relatability. Jarad wrote his songs for his fans, whether it was giving relationship advice or writing about growing up too fast. 

Jarad started his career early on. He began to develop himself as an artist in his first year of high school. He had recorded his first tracks on his phone then uploaded them to SoundCloud during his sophomore year. Jarad released his debut EP, 9 9 9, on June 15, 2017. The popular song Lucid Dreams started blowing up online and this is when he began to grow his following. In May 2018, Lucid Dreams was released as a single and given a music video. It  went on to peak at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and quickly became one of the biggest songs of summer 2018. Jarad also released his first official album, Goodbye & Good Riddance, on May 23, 2018 which added to his summer 2018 popularity. Jarad’s music has been seen as “emo” and “rock” combined, with music focusing on every broken heart and every hurt feeling. This opened a cross path between the two genres. 

Higgins was aboard a private jet flying from Los Angeles to Midway International Airport in Chicago on December 8th 2019. Higgins supposedly swallowed multiple Percocet pills to hide them from police. He began going into seizures. Paramedics suspected an opioid overdose and gave him Narcan to try and reverse the effects. Higgins was then transported to a nearby hospital where he died of an overdose. Police found three handguns and 70lb of marijuana on the jet after their search. Higgins sadly had a history of drug abuse and spoke openly about his experiences; he shared his past with his fans for a reason. 

Juice Wrld’s sound was unique, fans have already blown up his social media pages with messages and RIP’s, and the news of his death was trending on Twitter on Sunday, December 8th. At just 21 years old he struggled so much, but he knew his passion for music. These lyrics from his song Legends really speak to me when I think about his death. 

  “ All legends fall in the making, sorry truth, dying young, demon youth.” 

  “ I’m tryina make it out, I’m tryina change the world” 

Higgins knew that most teens in general not only famous ones, were struggling with the things he spoke to in his songs. Even in other songs like Roses feat. Brendon Urie the songs chorus speaks to all that have suffered heartbreak. 

“Roses are red

 Violets are blue

 My heart is dead

 I’m such a fool

 Why did I fall for you?

 I gave it all for you.”

Or in his song Graduation feat. Benny Blanco, Jarad speaks about his high school experiences and how friendships in high school are once you graduate. 

“Huh, as we go on, 

 We remember, 

 All the times we, 

 Spent together,  

As our lives change, 

From whatever, 

We will still be 

Friends forever” 

Yet, by the middle of the song he starts talking about how life after high school really isn’t much easier. He tries to tell his fans that you shouldn’t rush to grow up. How when he got out of high school there was a lot of struggles and the same things still happen. 

“What I didn’t know was this grown up world

Was just school in a blown up world

There’s still gossip, there’s still drama, there’s still problems

There’s a right and there’s a wrong

There’s still people that I think won’t love me ’til I’m gone

Lowkey miss the days walkin’ ’round in my school halls

But now I got a bigger job, the world screamin’ my songs”

    Juice Wrld was a very prominent figure in new and upcoming music, His music spoke to millions of broken hearts. It definitely spoke to mine. His passing is terrible but this is just another lesson for us teens. First XXXtentacion, then Lil Peep, now Juice Wrld. All amazing rappers gone way too soon for messing with the wrong people and the wrong drugs. 

I leave you with a quote said by Juice Wrld recently in an interview before his death.

“I always used to get lost in the music, Some people, music is just, it comes natural to them to do it and they love to listen to it. I’m one of those people.” ~ Juice Wrld

Picture from variety.com (SCOTT GARFITT/SHUTTERSTOCK)