Nicki Minaj Calls Juice WRLD a 'Kindred Spirit'

Nicki Minaj is paying tribute to Juice WRLD after his tragic death over the weekend. Minaj, 37, began her speech at the Billboard Women in Music awards on Thursday by honoring fellow rapper Juice WRLD, who died on Sunday shortly after having a seizure at Chicago’s Midway Airport. “I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice WRLD,” Minaj said. “I had a great conversation with him and while we walked to the stage, he held my hand and told me to stay calm and to pray.

He said that he had been trying to do just that. ” “I was so shocked to hear him — of all people — tell me that, but right there in that room with him telling me that, I actually did feel calm and I felt like, ‘Hmm… what am I actually worried about? ’ ” she continued. “I felt like he was a kindred spirit.

And looking back now, I wish I did something differently, or said something to help. ” Minaj added: “He spoke to me in detail about how in love he was with his girlfriend, and how passionate he was about music, and when he was in the studio with me, he did so many songs so quickly. He was honest and pure about what he felt and that inspired me. ” “I know this is a women in music night, and I’m so honored to be in the presence of all of these great women … So I know it’s about that, but it doesn’t feel comfortable for me to talk about me when someone so important to our culture just died,” the musician said.

“I want to honor him tonight and send my condolences to him and his family and his girlfriend and his friends and everybody. ” Minaj also used her speech to address addiction. On Thursday, Juice WRLD’s mother, Carmella Wallace, gave a statement to TMZ explaining that her son — whose real name was Jarad Anthony Higgins — battled with drug addiction. “I want to tell everyone that ‘Drugs isn’t the problem’ isn’t the way we fix our problem,” Minaj said.

“So it’s so important that we don’t pass judgment so that people don’t feel ashamed to speak up and ask for help. It’s so important that we talk about mental health. It is. Because people are dying because they don’t want to express how miserable they are and how much they’re suffering, so they’d rather medicate themselves.