When weighing in on the tragic death of Juice WRLD, the 'Dark Things' rapper points out the importance of conveying a more positive influence in hip-hop music.
- December 28, 2019
AceShowbiz - Rapper Vic Mensa has called on his fellow hip-hop stars to quit glorifying drug use in their music, following the tragic death of Juice WRLD earlier this month (December 2019).
The 21-year-old, real name Jarad Higgins, died at Chicago's Midway Airport after suffering a seizure on December 8, and his family later opened up on the star's long-term battle with "prescription drug dependency".
Speaking to TMZ, "Dark Things" star Mensa urged his musical peers to have a more positive influence through their music, adding he's "100 per cent" thought about the message he conveys in his tracks.
"As members of the hip-hop community, we need to take responsibility for the things that we say," he said. "We need to recognise that the s**t that we talk about influences children."
He continued: "We have a responsibility to give it to them in a real way. Not to say you can't talk about your real life and the things that are happening, but I think that we need to start holding each other and ourselves accountable for our glorification of the drug culture. 100 per cent."
Following Juice's death, rapper Lil Pump, real name Gazzy Garcia, dropped his popular tune "Drug Addict" - which glorifies drug abuse - from his set at Los Angeles' Rolling Loud Festival and instead performed Juice's hit single, "Lucid Dreams", along with a video displaying "Rest in Peace", in honour of the late star.
