Rapper Juice WRLD 'Popped Several Pills' Before Sudden Death: Reports

We’re still shocked at the sudden death of up-and-coming rapper Juice WRLD, and saddened by the hours-long mourning that took over social media on Sunday morning.

As we reported early yesterday, the 21-year-old rapper died at Chicago’s Midway International Airport after suffering a seizure a little after 1:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, just minutes after disembarking from a private jet. Now, we’re starting to learn more about some of the context surrounding his death — as well as a major FBI investigation into an alleged marijuana stash on board the plane.

According to TMZ, law enforcement sources are now claiming “people on the plane” told them the rapper “popped several pills” while still on board, prior to suffering seizures inside the terminal. It’s not known what kind of pills the rapper allegedly took; members of his team only reported he consumed “several unknown pills” in the time leading up to his medical emergency.

Now, one of the Lucid Dreams rapper’s associates did reportedly tell Chicago police that the late artist had some kind of history with Percocet. However, that has not been confirmed.

To make things more complicated, law enforcement sources did say a bottle of codeine cough syrup was found on the plane. As you likely already know, codeine can be mixed with soda to create a drink called “lean,” “sizzurp,” or “purple drank,” which has been popularized in hip-hop culture now for more than a decade. The codeine mixture in the drink is a depressant, and can cause respiratory problems and seizures when taken in incorrect doses.

Again, cops are unsure if Juice WRLD was using the codeine himself, though the investigation into his death continues through the week. The Cook County Medical Examiner is scheduled to conduct a full autopsy later today.

Drug Bust…

To make things even a bit more hectic for cops investigating the rapper’s death, the private jet in which Juice WRLD had been traveling was apparently loaded down with more than 70 pounds of marijuana stashed across several suitcases found on board the flight! Whoa! TMZ reports the weed-filled luggage was seized in the private jet terminal at Midway. Talk about a crazy turn of events…

Cops also arrested two men on board the plane — Chris Long and Henry Dean — for possession of handguns, though both men were quickly released after initially being booked into jail.

There’s clearly a lot left to investigate around the sad, untimely death of the young rapper.

Our thoughts continue to be with his family, friends, and loved ones during the aftermath of his death and this extended difficult time period. RIP…

[Image via Juice WRLD/YouTube]