Juice WRLD was open about his mental health struggles in his music, with songs such as his hit single, “Lucid Dreams.” Until his death last year at the age of 21, the rapper served as the voice of many young people who were feeling the same. Now, the musician’s mother is making sure to pay homage in an important and effective way.
Carmela Wallace announced on Wednesday that she’d established the Live Free 999 Fund in honor of her late son, born Jarad Higgins. The fund aims to serve young people who are struggling with mental health issues such as addiction, anxiety and depression with “love, joy and honesty.”
According to the fund’s website, Live Free 999 will focus on initiatives such as “normalizing the conversation around these issues, especially in underserved communities” and “supporting programs that help people find positive avenues to process their mental health challenges” through various programming. The fund will receive additional support from Juice WRLD’s label Interscope Records and the subsidiary he was signed to, Grade A.
“I was aware of [Jarad’s] struggles with addiction, anxiety and depression; we had many conversations about his challenges with these issues,” Wallace said in a statement. “I know he truly wanted to be free from the demons that tormented him. I made the decision upon his death that I was going to share his struggles with the world with the objective of helping others.” She adds that it is her “desire” to help young people who are hurting by “providing access to education, prevention and treatment for opioid and other forms of drug addiction.”
During his time in the spotlight, Juice WRLD released two studio albums: his platinum-selling debut Goodbye & Good Riddance in 2018, and his No. 1 album Death Race for Love in 2019. He also won a Billboard Music Award in 2019 for Top New Artist. He died after suffering a seizure at Chicago’s Midway Airport on December 8, 2019. Toxicology reports discovered that the seizure was caused by an accidental overdose of codeine and oxycodone.