Juice WRLD’s mother has spoken up about the addiction issues that led to his death on Sunday at the age of 21.
In a statement to TMZ, Carmella Wallace said her son, whose real name was Jarad Higgins, “battled with prescription drug dependency” and addressed it in his music and in interviews to help others.
"We hope the conversations he started in his music and his legacy will help others win their battles as that is what he wanted more than anything,” Wallace said.
“Addiction knows no boundaries and its impact goes way beyond the person fighting it. Jarad was a son, brother, grandson, friend and so much more to so many people who wanted more than anything to see him defeat addiction.”
Juice WRLD died Sunday morning after arriving in his native Chicago on a private flight from Los Angeles. Although the results of toxicology tests are pending, it has been reported that he may have swallowed pills to hide them from law enforcement.
Agents who searched the luggage on Juice’s final flight reportedly found dozens of bags of marijuana and six bottles of prescription cough syrup in addition to weapons and ammunition.
The rising rap star had previously been candid about his use of Percocet and Xanax as well as “lean” – a mix of cough syrup and soda and hard candy.
“We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been cut short,” his mother said in her statement. “We know that Jarad's legacy of love, joy and emotional honesty will live on.”