Rapper Juice WRLD, 21, dies after 'emergency'
CHICAGO — Rapper Juice WRLD, who launched his career on SoundCloud before becoming a streaming juggernaut and rose to the top of the charts with the Sting-sampled hit “Lucid Dreams,” died early Sunday after a “medical emergency” at Chicago's Midway International Airport.
The rapper, whose legal name was Jarad Higgins, was 21. Authorities have not released details about his cause of death.
He was pronounced dead at a hospital around 3:15 a.m. and taken to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, according to office spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, who said an autopsy would take place Monday.
Chicago police launched a death investigation after a 21-year-old male experiencing a “medical emergency” was transported from Midway to an area hospital. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the man experienced cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital from a small hangar at Midway, away from the main term.
The artist, who was named top new artist at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in May, lived in the Chicago suburb of Homewood where he stood out as a musician early on.
Juice WRLD turned 21 only days earlier. He was only two years out of high school.
Like a good number of young hip-hop performers, Juice WRLD blended rapping and singing on his songs, sometimes mumbling words and focusing more on melody. His hit “Lucid Dreams,” which heavily samples Sting's 1993 song “Shape of My Heart,” was a six-times platinum success and reached No. 2 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
His second album, “Death Race for Love,” debuted on top of the Billboard charts this year.
