Sharing the heartbreaking news on Twitter, the father of the rising artist stresses the need of more open discussions about drugs and mental illness as he promises that his son's life 'was not and will not be in vain.'
- Jun 29, 2019
AceShowbiz - Hip-hop world is mourning the loss of one of its own. Rapper Hella Sketchy, whose real name is Jacob Tyler Thureson, passed away early in the morning on Thursday, June 27 after suffering a drug overdose and subsequently falling into a coma for 14 days, his father Erik Thureson has confirmed.
Taking it to Twitter, Erik posted a series of messages along with pictures on his son on Thursday. "You are not supposed to go before your father or grandfather. That's not supposed to happen. That's not how this works. We have no words," the cinematographer wrote along with a photo of young Jacob posing next to him and possibly Jacob's grandfather. "We are so sad to share that Jacob Tyler Thureson passed away on June 27,2019 at 5:11 am."
In the second tweet, Erik shared a photo of his son lying in hospital bed while he was in a coma. He wrote in the caption, "Jacob was found unresponsive on June 13th from an apparent drug overdose. He was revived and brought to the ER where he's been in a coma for 14 days. Never in a million years would I have imagined that it would end like this."
Using the tragedy to raise awareness about drug and mental health issues, the filmmaker wrote, "The opioid epidemic does not discriminate. The conversation regarding drugs, depression, mental illness, social media, needs to be happening more openly without judgment and stigma." He went on promising that "Jacob's life was not and will not be in vain."
Lastly, Erik posted a photo of Jacob's hand. Despite still trying to come to terms with his son's passing, he praises God, who "is still good." He shared, "Jacob touched many lives. He had so many praying. There was unity from people of all backgrounds with 1 hope for Jacob to pull through. We don't understand why but we do know that no matter what God is still good & we praise him."
Jacob was open about his drug issues and depression on Twitter. Just days before he fell into a coma, Jacob declared himself "sober drug addict." On June 13, before suffering drug overdose, he tweeted, "I love you guys so much thank you for supporting me I'm so grateful that I can help people with my music."
Jacob a.k.a. Hella was a rising artist who had more than 80,000 Instagram followers and amassed millions of YouTube streams. He most recently released music videos for "What Happened" and "Two Cups", taken from his self-titled project, which arrived back in March.
Following his passing, people are sending condolences to the grieving family. "I'm so sorry Mr Thureson praying for you and your family this should never happen to anyone," one wrote to Jacob's father.
Another commented on Erik's post, "prayers to u and ur family. sketchy was one of the nicest most genuine good ppl ive met in the music industry. i remember reaching out to u when he was 16 and speaking with you briefly. i loved when he moved out here and i would see him around town he was always so happy."
