Two weeks later On what would have been Juice WRLD's 25th birthday, and a week after the fourth anniversary of his death, the rapper's estate has shared a new song titled “Lace It,” featuring Eminem.
Both rappers warn of the dangers of addiction in their respective verses of the Benny Blanco-produced song, and Eminem, who survived his own battle with drugs, lists some of his musical peers who didn't make it: Lil Peep, Ol' Dirty. Bastard, Shock G, Pimp C, Prince and Michael Jackson.
“I was lucky, my escape was narrow and due / Now I think I take it for granted / That I'm still here, synthetic heroin, you tried to kill me, then you murdered Jarad, right?” Eminem rapped. a nod to Jarad “Juice WRLD” Higgins. “Addiction is like a vicious fucking cycle / Juice, we will always miss you / To the younger generation, I'm not preaching to you, but be careful when…”
“Lace It” marks the second posthumous collaboration between Juice WRLD and Eminem: just a month after Juice WRLD’s death in December 2019, a verse of his appeared on Eminem’s “Godzilla.” Benny Blanco and Juice WRLD worked together on a handful of tracks before Higgins' death, including “Roses,” “Black & White,” “Graduation” and the posthumous “Real Shit.”
In a statement, Higgins' mother, Carmela Wallace, said of “Lace It”: “I can remember Jarad playing Eminem's music on repeat at home because he was a big fan. This is a bittersweet moment for me; I'm happy that Jarad had the opportunity to make music with someone he admired and sad that he can't be here to enjoy the moment; “Jarad left us too soon.”
Juice WRLD died from a drug-related seizure in December 2019 at the age of 21. Four months later, the rapper's mother Carmela Wallace announced the establishment of the Live Free 999 Fund, which aims to support young people in their battles with anxiety and addiction. and depression.
