Rapper Juice WRLD’s mom, Carmella Wallace, has opened up for the first time about her son’s life, death, and drug addiction, after he died in December 2019.
Wallace confirmed during an interview with ABC 7 Chicago that Juice WRLD (Jarad Anthony Higgins) died from a drug overdose.
Wallace, who described her son’s death as devastating, said it should serve as an example to other young people.
She made up her mind soon after Juice WRLD died that she was not going to conceal the facts about the circumstances surrounding his death. She wanted to be open about it because many other people are struggling with the same problems and they could learn from the cause of her son’s premature death.
Wallace advised young people suffering from mental health issues, including anxiety, not to self-medicate, but to seek professional help.
She admitted that she had talked to Juice WRLD about his addiction. She said that she expressed her anxiety to Juice WRLD that he could overdose on the drugs he was taking.
Wallace is starting a foundation
Carmella Wallace also revealed that she was launching a foundation called the Live Free 999 Foundation that will help to raise awareness about young people’s mental health issues and drug addiction.
The foundation will help young people struggling with substance abuse and provide support for local communities.
Wallace revealed that after Juice WRLD died, many of his friends and fans started reaching out to her to talk about their mental health issues. She said this inspired her to start the foundation.
Live Free 999 will focus on normalizing the conversation about mental health problems and drug addiction, Wallace said.
Juice WRLD had “drug problems”
Rapper Juice WRLD died at the age of 21 in December 2019 after suffering convulsions at Chicago’s Midway International Airport.
After Juice WRLD and his entourage arrived at a private hangar at the Chicago airport from a trip to California, police and federal agents reportedly acting on a tip searched their luggage.
Juice WRLD suffered a sudden medical emergency while the officers searched their luggage.
The rapper reportedly began convulsing, fell to the ground, and was bleeding from the mouth.
While awaiting an ambulance, the officers administered Narcan after his girlfriend told them that he had “drug problems.”
She told them that he took Percocet, a pharmaceutical containing acetaminophen and oxycodone.
The ambulance rushed him to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead.
Law enforcement officers found bags of marijuana and bottles of prescription codeine syrup in the rapper’s luggage.
Juice WRLD left a rich legacy. He had a massive cache of unreleased songs at the time of his death.
Now, his mother, Carmella Wallace is left to pick up the pieces and leave an impact on the world.