Rapper Juice WRLD becomes most-streamed artist in the US after untimely death

The music of rapper Juice WRLD, who died at the age of 21 at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, has witnessed a rise across US charts. Rolling Stone reports he reached the No 1 spot in terms of song sales and number of streams. AFP had noted ‘Lucid Dreams’ was quick to reenter the US iTunes site as the news of his death spread. The audio streams rose to nearly 500 percent on 8 December to over 38.2 million in the US. Four of Juice WRLD’s songs were among the top 10 songs played on Spotify and Apple Music. [caption id=“attachment_7757861” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Juice WRLD. Image from Twitter[/caption] His breakout single, ‘Lucid Dreams,’ was the most streamed song of the day, recording nearly 4.4 million on-demand audio streams, according to BuzzAngle Music. In the No 4 spot was ‘Legends’, featuring the ominous lyrics, “What’s the 27 Club? / We ain’t making it past 21." This was followed by ‘Robbery’ and ‘All Girls Are the Same.’ In terms of digital downloads, ‘Lucid Dreams’ was the top song, and ‘Legends’ was at the sixth spot. The cause behind the young rapper’s death is still unknown. “Following an initial autopsy, additional toxicology, cardiac pathology, and neuropathology tests were required,” Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a statement. Juice WRLD had suffered a convulsions when federal agents were carrying out a search for banned substances in his private jet. The BBC writes 41 “vacuum-sealed” bags of marijuana, six bottles of prescription codeine cough syrup, two 9 mm pistols, a 0.40-caliber pistol, a high-capacity ammunition magazine, and metal-piercing bullets were confiscated from the plane. Juice WRLD was of a generation known as the “SoundCloud rappers” — a sub-genre that takes its name from the streaming platform where its artists first find fame. The SoundCloud scene has launched careers and sales figures but the lives of its figures are often volatile. XXXTentacion  was murdered in 2018, while Tekashi69, seeking leniency on serious racketeering and weapons charges, this year was a star government witness at the trial of alleged former gang associates. And in 2017, the rapper Lil Peep died at age 21 of what was declared an accidental overdose of fentanyl and Xanax. (With inputs from agencies)