Juice WRLD's Family Breaks Silence Following His Sudden Death at 21

The family of rapper Juice WRLD broke their silence after the performer's sudden death. The "Lucid Dreams" rapper died on Dec. 8 after suffering a seizure at Chicago's Midway Airport. In their statement, Juice WRLD's family said they hoped his death would inspire others to beat their addictions.

"We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been cut short. As he often addressed in his music and to his fans, Jarad battled with prescription drug dependency," Juice WRLD's mother, Carmella Wallace, said in a statement to TMZ. "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. 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."

In conclusion, Wallace thanked his fans, friends and family for their support, adding, "We know that Jarad's legacy of love, joy and emotional honesty will live on."

Juice WRLD, born Jarad Anthony Higgins, died after he arrived in Chicago from Los Angeles aboard a private flight. Law enforcement sources said he swallowed several Percocet pills when he learned federal agents were waiting for the plane at the gate. Officials found three handguns, codeine and 70 lbs. of marijuana on the plane.

The rapper's official cause of death is still unknown. On Monday, the Medical Examiner's Office said "additional studies are required to establish the cause and manner of death." The tests include cardiac pathology, neuropathology, histology and toxicology, according to an official.

This week, Alexia Smith, the rapper's ex-girlfriend, told The Daily Mail that Juice often took as many as three Percocet pills a day when they were together, often mixing the pills with a codeine cocktail called lean.

"Seven days away from me, he ended up in the hospital," Smith told The Mail through tears. "When he was away from me for seven days, he ended up hospitalized from collapsing on stage. One year away from me, and he's dead."

Smith said they dated in 2018 and Juice suffered from chronic depression. After Lil Peep and XXXTentacion's deaths, she urged him to get sober.

"It was really messed up. Someone took 20 fake Xanax and threw it at him on stage," she explained. "He was up there singing about Peep and X, and someone just throws him pills the same exact way Peep died. I realized it was a problem. I realized it wasn't OK. He never took Xanax again after that. That's when he decided to get completely clean, but he couldn't."

Smith said she got clean herself, and learned how addicted she was to the drugs they took.

"When you get [clean], it physically hurts and messes you up mentally. We started to get physical with each other and then he would just relapse because he couldn't deal with how much it hurt," Smith added. His body was in pain."

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