Sting has paid tribute to Juice WRLD after the 21-year-old died yesterday (December 8) in Chicago.
- READ MORE: Juice WRLD, 1998-2019 – the NME obituary
The rapper passed away following a “medical emergency” at a Chicago airport, officials confirmed.
According to TMZ, the rapper (real name Jarad Anthony Higgins) suffered a seizure shortly after he landed in Chicago from California.
Officials said they rushed to Midway Airport around 2am where the 21-year-old suffered a medical emergency and was thereafter transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Illinois confirmed Juice WRLD’s death in a statement published by The New York Times.
Tributes have been pouring in for Juice WRLD since the news of his death. A number of the rapper’s friends, collaborators and fellow artists have since taken to social media to pay tribute led by Drake, Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper and Meek Mill.
Sting, whose 1993 track ‘Shape of My Heart’ was reworked to create Juice WRLD’s ‘Lucid Dreams’, has now shared some words following the young rapper’s death.
“This is such a tragic loss for the world of music, a young life with so much potential and a unique and precious talent,” Sting said in a statement sent to NME. “‘Lucid Dreams’ was my favourite of all the many interpolations of ‘Shape of my Heart’, it will resonate for many years to come. My sincere condolences to the family.”
The former Police frontman also took to Instagram to post a photograph of Juice WRLD with the caption: “Tragic loss of a talented artist @juicewrld999 My thoughts are with his family and friends.”
The tribute comes after Sting once joked that the royalties from the ‘Lucid Dreams’ sample would “put [his] grandkids through college”. He ultimately sued for a reported 85 per cent share of its earnings.
In an interview with NME, Juice WRLD claimed that the percentage was more, but he wasn’t fazed by it. “I don’t give a fuck about that, though,” he said. “Money is gonna come regardless. If you doin’ this for money, people gonna be able to tell. For me [it’s more important that] Sting said my music is beautiful, the fact that he performed my version of the song.”
Fans have also flooded social media with tributes and memories of the rapper.
“I can’t explain the pain I’m feeling right now. I woke up this morning and I just see juice wrld passed away. This doesn’t feel right at all. Rest In Peace juice wrld,” one fan wrote.
Juice WRLD’s last gig came on November 30 as he performed in Ballarat, Australia at Spilt Milk Festival after a string of dates in both Australia and New Zealand.
Footage from his final tour in Australia includes a performance of an unreleased song called ‘Sitting Ducks’.