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Hundreds of Chicago teens remember rapper Juice Wrld with their own Millennium Park memorial

With phone lights reflected off The Bean in Millennium Park and music pouring out of portable speakers, young people from across Chicago belted the chorus to Juice Wrld’s song “Lucid Dreams.”

“I still see your shadows in my room. Can’t take back the love that I gave you. It’s to the point where I love and I hate you.”

The makeshift memorial was created through a Facebook event called “Juice Wrld Memorial Millennium Park” and began about 7:30 p.m. Friday. People gathered to celebrate and remember Juice Wrld, a young rapper from the Chicago area who died Dec. 8 after suffering cardiac arrest at a private hangar at Midway Airport.

The Facebook event read, “Let’s Come Together As One For Juice Wrld Bring Your Music, Liquor, And Drugs.” More than 2,500 people marked themselves as “interested,” and others at The Bean on Friday night said they found out about it through screenshots of the Facebook event that were shared on Instagram and Snapchat.

The hundreds of teenagers and 20-somethings used it as their chance to come together, in their own way, to show their love for the 21-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jarad Higgins.

Older generations, they said, may not understand why Higgins’ music helped them through hard times or why they continue to support him after police and federal agents found 41 “vacuum-sealed” bags of marijuana, six bottles of prescription codeine cough syrup, two 9 mm pistols, a .40-caliber pistol, a high-capacity ammunition magazine and metal-piercing bullets in Higgins’ and his entourage’s luggage, according to law enforcement sources.

Erik Sebastian, 16, said he met Juice Wrld at a Chicago skate park about a year and a half ago around the time his music video for “All Girls Are The Same” was released. A lot of people in the Chicago skater community came to show their support because Higgins was one of them, he said.

“We love Juice Wrld,” he said. “So many positive vibes. Not a negative person here.”

Naombi Givens, 17, and Alayssha Martinez, 17, came up to Millennium Park from the Englewood neighborhood after they saw a lot of people from their high school share the Facebook event on social media. Martinez said she discovered Juice Wrld about a year ago after a friend told her about him, and she’s been listening to him since. Hearing that he died was tragic, especially because his music was starting to become more mainstream, she said/.

“He was one of my favorite rappers. He really helped me through some stuff with some family issues,” Martinez said. “We saw this (event) and thought no way this could be happening.”

Vanessa Solis, 21, carried a homemade poster with a picture of Higgins and his birth date and death date. She said she came because her friend made the Facebook event that brought everyone out.

“We wanted to spread some love and support,” she said. “We lost a good-ass artist. Always keep him in your heart.”