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Jarad Higgins, aka Juice Wrld, passed away only six days after his birthday on December 8th, 2019. He was on top of the world, with several multi-platinum hits and a #1 album under his belt, he was the true definition of a star. He was just coming off a US tour with Ski Mask the Slump God and an international tour with Nicki Minaj. There seemed to be nothing that could stop Juice Wrld. However, the battle with his demons were ultimately the cause of his abrupt passing. Juice was the voice of a generation, he spoke volumes about his own emotional trauma and struggles with addiction. He appealed to whoever listened by just telling a story that so many were already familiar with. He was one of the most talented artists on the planet, free-styling his whole album, “Death Race For Love”. He was not only respected, but at times idolized by his peers on multiple occasions. You also couldn’t put him in a box, from singing his heart out on songs like “Robbery” to effortless bars in “Out My Way“, his versatility was definitely apparent.

The Beginning

Juice Wrld was not always his name, he started uploading songs to SoundCloud with the name JuiceTheKidd in 2015. However he would change his name to Juice Wrld because of Tupac’s character in the movie Juice and Wrld was for “taking over the world”. His first breakout single was “All Girls Are The Same” in April 2018. It quickly started to gain attention after Lyrical Lemonade posted the music video and peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song currently has 153 Million views on YouTube and is 3x platinum. However, this was not even Juice’s biggest hit as “Lucid Dreams” would take him from “promising artist” to “superstar” level instantly. The song peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, is 6x Platinum, and currently has 549 Million YouTube views. Both songs would be singles on his debut project, “Goodbye & Good Riddance” which dropped on May 23rd, 2018.

Juice Wrld: The Superstar

Goodbye & Good Riddance would go on to debut at #15 on the Billboard charts, selling 39,000 copies first week. However, his sales increased the next two weeks as he sold 45,000 in his second week and 42,000 copies in the third week on the charts. It would go on to peak at #4 and Juice Wrld was finally achieving his dreams. His career would take another jump as he was featured on one of his biggest influences, Travis Scott’s album Astroworld on the song, “No Bystanders” in August of 2018. Just two months later, Juice Wrld and Future would release their collaboration tape called, “Wrld on Drugs”. The album debuted at #1 on the charts and sold 98,000 copies first week. After these two projects fans were eager to see what Juice would do for his debut album. Before the addition of “Wasted” with Lil Uzi Vert to Goodbye & Good Riddance in July, the mixtape had no features so fans were wanting to see what features he would bring on this project. Brent Faiyaz, Young Thug, and Clever were the three features chosen as Juice would go on to earn his first solo #1 album with, “Death Race For Love”. The album sold 165,000 copies in its first week and 75,000 in its second week, dominating the charts. He would then go on his nationwide tour with Ski Mask The Slump God and then stops in Asia and Australia before his unfortunate passing.

Posthumous Album & Impact

The whole music industry was shocked to see one of its youngest stars taken at such a young age. Juice’s death hit hard for those that were close to him and to his fans. His fans had a special bond with his music because it helped them get through difficult times and made them feel like there was someone else there for them when they might’ve felt no one else was. Although Juice’s struggle with addiction was well documented throughout his music, there was just hope that he’d stick it out and eventually win against his demons. Juice was known to religiously record wherever he went. He’s rumored to currently have thousands of unreleased songs. His label, Grade A productions waited until April to release any new music. “Righteous” and “Tell Me You Love Me” ft. Trippie Redd were the first two singles released before his posthumous album, both songs debuted in the top 15 on the Billboard charts. On July 10th, 2020 “Legends Never Die” was released by Juice’s label. The album had 21 songs with four skits/interludes and Polo G, The Kid Laroi, Halsey, & Trippie Redd were all featured. The album debuted at #1 and sold 497,000 copies first week, breaking the charts. The album is currently sitting at #3 and has sold 854,000 copies in its first four weeks. While he’s not here to live out his success, Juice Wrld has had a long-lasting impact on every single person who has listened to his music. As fans we all wish he was here, but he would’ve wanted us to keep pushing too. That’s the meaning of 999, to take the negative and turn it around into a positive. RIP to the legend Juice Wrld and remember, the party never ends…