'What's the 27 club? We ain't making it past 21': Juice WRLD's death is the latest in a troubling trend

It's been one week since Juice WRLD, a quickly rising hip-hop star, died suddenly at Chicago's Midway International Airport. He was 21 years old. 

The young rapper's death is the latest in a frightening trend that has plagued the hip-hop world since late 2017, with a number of high-profile stars dying, almost all of whom were aged 20 or 21. Many of these young artists were rappers who came up through the online music service Soundcloud, and many but not all of the deaths were related to drugs.

Some have been comparing this troubling spate of deaths to the so-called "27 club" of rockstars who all died at that age, except this time the artists are even younger. In a song called Legends, Juice WRLD prophesizes his own death, singing, "What's the 27 club? We ain't making it past 21." Then, later in that verse: "They tell me I'mma be a legend / don't want that title now / 'Cause all the legends seem to die out."

Danny Schwartz is a music journalist who has been covering this story. He's written for Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and GQ, among others. Schwartz joined q's Tom Power on the line from New York to tell us more about Juice WRLD's death and the reason why so many young artists are overdosing.

Click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full conversation with Danny Schwartz about Juice WRLD.

— Produced by Matt Amha