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 Sunday after a “medical emergency” at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
The rapper, whose legal name was Jarad A. Higgins, was 21. Authorities have not released details about his cause of death.
The Cook County medical examiner’s office was notified of Higgin’s death Sunday morning, according to office spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, who said an autopsy was likely 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 where he was pronounced dead. 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 terminal, where private planes land.
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.