American rapper Juice Wrld died early on Sunday after a “medical emergency” at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, according to authorities.
Juice Wrld, whose real name was Jarad A. Higins, was pronounced dead at around 3.15am but authorities have not released details about his cause of death.
An autopsy will take place on Monday, and police said there were no signs of foul play and those aboard an aircraft were cooperating with authorities.
Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said a man experienced cardiac arrest and was transported to a hospital from a Midway hanger away from the main terminal, where private planes land.
How old was Juice Wrld?
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1998, he lived in the suburb of Homewood where he stood out as a musician early on.
He had turned 21 only days before his death, and was only two years out of high school after graduating from Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School in 2017.
The rapper first gained his reputation as a talented musician at school.
The rapper was named top new artist at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in May.
What are his biggest songs?
Juice WRLD got his start on the music sharing platform SoundCloud before signing to a record label and finding major success on streaming services.
His major-label debut album, Goodbye & Good Riddance, was a platinum success. It featured the hit All Girls Are the Same, which gained platinum status when released as a single in 2018, alongside seven more platinum hits including Armed & Dangerous, Robbery, Fine China and Legends, which features the now-haunting lyrics: “What’s the 27 Club?/We ain’t making it past 21.”
Juice Wrld had 10 songs reach gold status and also gained critical and commercial success with 2018’s Wrld on Drugs, a collaborative album with rapper-singer-producer Future.
That same year he released arguably his biggest hit Lucid Dreams, which heavily samples Sting’s 1993 song Shape of My Heart.
It went six-times platinum success and reached No. 2 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart, as well as the top spot on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
His second album, Death Race for Love, debuted on top of the Billboard charts this year and his most recent single, Bandit with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, reached the Top 10 of the pop charts in October.
What was Juice Wrld’s cause of death?
Authorities have not released details about his death. An autopsy takes place on Monday.
Chicago police said a man experienced a “medical emergency” and was transported from Midway to an area hospital.
Langford said the man experienced cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital from a hangar operated by Atlantic Aviation at Midway. Police added there were no signs of foul play.
Celebrity news website TMZ said he suffered a seizure at the airport on Sunday morning.
