Carmela Wallace, the mother of Jarad Anthony Higgins, also known by his screen name Juice Wrld, is honoring her son's legacy by helping the youth in their fight with mental health.
The Foundation
Last Wednesday, Wallace announced the launch of her fundraising campaign named "Live Free 999 Fund," to support programs that aid people in finding positive ways to address mental challenges just like what Juice Wrld did with his music.
The foundation will receive additional support from recording companies that Juice worked with like Grade A Productions and Interscope Records.
"Young people around the world were truly touched by Jarad's music because he spoke to issues and situations in his music that resonated with them so deeply," Wallace said in a press statement. Wallace was aware of her son's struggle with mental health and addiction. She also said that she talked with Juice. She established the fund to create awareness and to prevent and treat addiction.
Juice Wlrd
Higgins was born on Dec. 2, 1998, in Calumet Park, Illinois, to Wallace and his father, who left them after his parents were separated. He was involved in music since he was young. He grew up playing piano, drums, and guitar before he turned to rap when he was in high school.
In 2015, he recorded his first single "Forever" on SoundCloud when he was a freshman. He started to rap more seriously when he was a sophomore. He made his first name JuiceTheKidd based on the film "Juice" starring the late Tupac Shakur. He then changed it to Juice WRLD because he believed that he would "take over the world."
In June 2017, he released his first EP "999," which include his breakthrough single "Lucid Dreams." He also released his next EP "Nothings Different" in December 2017. One of his singles, "All Girls Are the Same," became a hit, and along with "Lucid Dreams," he got two spots on Billboard Hot 100. In 2018, he launched his debut album "Goodbye & Good Riddance" and two-song EP titled "Too Soon..." commemorating two deceased rappers Lil Peep and XXXXTentacion.
He also released two other albums like "Future" and "Death Race For Love." In total, he released three albums and 14 singles and EPs, according to Discogs.
In 2018, he revealed that he is battling his addiction to drugs. In his interviews with Hot 107.9 radio station in Atlanta, Georgia, he admitted that he started to drink liquor when he was in his sixth grade and took Percocet for the first time during his first year of high school. He died on Dec.8, 2019, after he suffered a seizure while he was in Midway Airport in Chicago. His death was ruled as an accidental overdose of oxycodone and codeine, according to XXL Magazine. He was 21 years old.
Today, Juice Wrld's single "Righteous" was released posthumously. The single was released six months after his death. The song was tackling mental health, glamour, and addiction, according to Billboard. XXL Magazine reported that Wallace, Juice's family, and record label revealed the release of the single.
Hip Hop singer Lil Bibby, a friend of Juice, said that a posthumous album would be released soon. He also said on Instagram how much he missed his friend.
