Despite considering myself someone who does not like documentaries, I found “Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss” on HBO very interesting. The inspiring and entertaining documentary portrayed lots of interesting points. Some of the major topics in the documentary are Juice WRLD’s ability to inspire others and his battle with substance abuse. 

The main focus of the documentary is about the late Jarad Anthony Higgins’ “Juice World” struggle with substance abuse, an unfortunately common issue within the rap community. His main struggle was with opiates and narcotics. I found this part of the documentary particularly sad. The interviewers talked with those close to him, including his girlfriend, producers and DJs about how his substance abuse problems affected their interactions. An especially insightful comment into the extent of his addiction is shown when Higgins’ girlfriend, Ally, talks about how narcotics are not allowed in their home since Higgins’ overdose in London. Despite this complication, he continued to abuse “lean,” often asking his producers for copious amounts. To prevent him from ingesting lethal amounts, his assistants would give him one ounce and hide the bottle because they knew the extent of his dependency. Even with foreknowledge of drug abuse, I found this part of the documentary hard to watch.

The documentary centers on his abuse problems, but also shines light on him being timeless and a great artist. The documentary emphasizes the help his music provided to people with mental health issues and how he helped motivate people. The documentary supports this with testimony from people who come forward to say his music prevented them from committing suicide and made them want to live, emphasizing the positive impact his artistry has on the world. At one point interviewers speak with Ski Mask the Slump God, another rapper that worked with Higgins. In the interview, he discussed how he and Higgins adopted the phrase “into the abyss” as a name for a dark period in a person’s life, which they unfortunately felt encapsulated most of Juice WRLD’s life. 

They also interviewed Cole Bennett, a videographer who worked with Higgins frequently. In the documentary, Bennet speaks about how much he admires Higgins and feels that his music is timeless. He also feels very strongly that Juice WRLD’s legacy is firmly entrenched in the music industry, saying that people who are not born yet will be Juice WRLD fans. A huge portion of the documentary follows Higgins working in the studio and going to radio interviews without resting in between. This heavily portrays how hard-working Higgins was, and how he worked to make the world a better place through his music. 

Wrapping up the documentary, they spoke on how Higgins was as a person aside from his public image as Juice WRLD. It was honestly very sad. He was a “lover boy” as his colleagues described him and was like an angel. The most shocking part of the documentary was his death and the following weeks that led up to it, he released an inspirational tweet about listening to yourself and finding your purpose in life. 

This tweet was very deep for his girlfriend and colleagues because exemplified his suicidal premonitions. Sadly, he proved correct in his time frame. A week later he died. After disembarking a plane he was approached by law enforcement, after conversing with his girlfriend in an agitated state, he collapsed and had a seizure, later being pronounced dead. 

“Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss,” is a very interesting yet sad documentary. To see someone so gifted battle problems like his and substance abuse like that was very hard to watch. He was a lover, a family man, a timeless artist and so much more and he was taken too early. Although he is gone, his music will live on forever and continue to inspire people.