Can't take back the love that I gave you
It's to the point where I love and I hate you
And I cannot change you, so I must replace you"
Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice WRLD (pronounced "juice world") was an American rapper, singer and songwriter. While he was only professionally active for four years, he became a prominent figure in modern rap during the mid-to-late 2010s, primarily through the melodic emo rap and SoundCloud rap genres that gained mainstream attention during that time. His take on the sound was a essentially fusion of rock and Trap Music.
He and his older brother were raised by a single mother after their parents divorced when he was 3 and their father left. While he was not allowed to listen to rap growing up, as his mother was very religious and conservative, he was allowed to listen to pop and rock, which introduced him to many artists and bands that would later influence his music.
After taking an interest in music during his childhood, learning to play the piano at 4 and later picking up the guitar, drums and trumpet, he began releasing music to SoundCloud in high school under the name JuicetheKidd. He later changed his name to Juice WRLD; the "Juice" part comes from the 1992 film Juice, since he admired Tupac Shakur's role in the film, while the "WRLD" part initially had no meaning but later came to represent "taking over the world".
After officially beginning his career as an independent artist in 2015, Juice WRLD joined the Internet Money collective in 2017, and shortly after released his debut EP 9 9 9note . A song from the EP, "Lucid Dreams", served as his Breakthrough Hit; with his newfound success, and cosigns from rappers like Waka Flocka Flame, he signed with Grade A Productions and Interscope Records. Upon the song being re-released through the labels as a single for his 2018 debut album, Goodbye & Good Riddance, it would go on to peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Diamond in 2022. The album itself generated several other hit singles (including "All Girls Are the Same", "Lean wit Me" and "Armed and Dangerous"), was certified Platinum by the end of the year, and was eventually certified quintuple Platinum in 2023.
Just under five months later, Juice WRLD released WRLD on Drugs, a collaborative mixtape between him and Future. His second album, Death Race for Love, was released in 2019; it contained the hit single "Robbery", which currently has over 1 billion streams on Spotify, and became his first #1 debut on the Billboard 200.
Sadly, nine months later, Juice WRLD died of an accidental drug overdose six days after turning 21. The overdose was later reported to have been caused by oxycodone and codeine. He was a heavy drug user throughout his childhood and teenage years and also struggled with depression and anxiety, both of which he discussed in his music. In the wake of his death, his mother established the Live Free 999 Fund
, which works to support programs that help young and undeserved populations affected by addiction and mental illness, expressing hope that her son's legacy would help others in their battles.
His first posthumous album, Legends Never Die, was released in 2020 and became his second #1 debut on the Billboard 200, also matching chart records for the most successful posthumous debut and the most US top-10 entries from one album. A single from the album, "Come & Go" (with Marshmello), became his second #2 song on the Billboard Hot 100. His second posthumous album, Fighting Demons, was released in 2021 alongside the documentary film Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss.
Album discography:
- Goodbye & Good Riddance (2018)
- WRLD on Drugs (with Future, 2018)
- Death Race for Love (2019)
Posthumous discography:
- Legends Never Die (2020)
- Fighting Demons (2021)
- "Doomsday" (with Cordae) (single) (2023)
All Tropes Are The Same
- Animated Music Video: "Righteous", justified due to his passing.
- Celebrity Elegy: "Legends" is one for Lil Peep and XXXTentacion. Live performances would show a montage of a lot more.
- Melodic Rap: A unique example, since his style was strongly influenced by Thrash and Heavy Metal.
- The Mentor: He was this to The Kid LAROI, with whom he collaborated on "Go" and "Hate the Other Side", which were both released posthumously.
- Shout-Out:
- The video for "Lucid Dreams" seems to be inspired by the video for "Sex and Candy".
- The video for "Lean With Me" was, by Juice's acknowledgement, inspired by the video for Eminem's "When I'm Gone".
