Today marks the arrival of Fighting Demons, the second posthumous album from rapper and singer Juice WRLD. The Chicago-born emo-rap icon died of a drug overdose almost exactly two years ago, on December 8, 2019, a mere six days after his 21st birthday.
Before his untimely passing, Juice recorded “an astonishingly deep catalog of music that will ensure his fans will have new songs to listen to for years to come,” according to a statement from his mother, Carmela Wallace.
“There was nothing Jarad ‘Juice WRLD’ Higgins enjoyed more than delivering new music to his millions of fans around the world,” Wallace’s statement reads. “Jarad was always searingly honest about his struggles and through his musical genius, he articulated what was on his heart and mind vividly through his art. He never gave up and his friends and family never gave up on offering their support to him.”
Fighting Demons follows 2020’s Legends Never Die, which reached #1 on the Billboard 200. Fans got their first taste of the new collection in November, when “Already Dead” emerged as the project’s lead single. A second single—”Wandered to LA,” featuring Justin Bieber—dropped earlier this month. Polo G, Trippie Redd, and SUGA of BTS also appear on the LP.
Juice’s legacy won’t live on solely through posthumous albums like this one. In October 2020, his mother established Livefree999.org, a website aimed at helping young people facing addiction and mental health struggles. “We encourage all of you who struggle with addiction and mental health to never give up the fight,” Wallace added in the Fighting Demons album announcement.
