Rap is a dangerous game.
Even once you make it out of the streets,
you have to deal with all the pressures of being a celebrity,
which can lead to stress and other stuff that can threaten your life.
Here is a look at a few famous rappers who have had a near-death experience
but lived to talk about it.
Young Thug
Young Thug is one of the most influential rappers of this generation.
When Thug first appeared on the rap scene,
traditional hip-hop fans clowned him for his fashion sense and melodic delivery.
But fast forward just a few years and nearly every popular rapper is now following his blueprint.
But Thug is also known for living a wild lifestyle that almost killed him.
During his come-up, Young Thug was known to partake in a lot of drug use.
In a GQ article from 2016,
a reporter who spent some time hanging out with the rapper said that
“Thug drinks prescription cough syrup all day, takes Xanax, smokes marijuana, eats molly.
Sometimes he does all of them at once.
He rarely sleeps. A former friend said Thug would stay up for days,
take lots of different kinds of drugs, then sleep for 24 to 48 hours”
In December 2017, the rapper went viral after posting a photo to his Instagram
that showed himself hooked up to what appeared to be an IV full of lean,
with the caption “**** a Double Cup I Wanna Feel it Faster”.
But Thug has also been vocal about his additions
and admitted that he’s been arrested for drug possession in the past
and has had to seek professional help.
Atlanta rapper Young Thug in new legal trouble tonight.
There's a warrant out for his arrest on 8 felony drug and gun charges.
It all stems from an incident last year
In April 2020, Thug did a live stream performance hosted by Offset,
called Offset and Friends to raise money for the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
During the show, he revealed to fans that he had once been hospitalized
because of his drug usage and almost passed away.
Thug described his near-death experience to the audience and said
“So, I kinda just stayed in the bed and I was like,
‘Yo call the ambulance. I can’t move my body.’
Then later … when the ambulance came, I couldn’t get out of the bed”
When the ambulance came, I couldn't get out of the bed
and uh,
They had to get me out of the bed basically
I felt like my whole body was numb and I couldn't move
He was taken to the hospital, where he stayed for 17 days.
His mom didn’t trust the doctors, so he went to another hospital where they told him
“Man, you got liver and kidney failure.
You supposed to be dead. Basically, you’ve been dead."
I was in the hospital for like 17 days
I left the hospital my mom didn't trust it
so I left the hospital and went to another hospital and was like "man you got liver and kidney failure.
You supposed to be dead.
Basically you've-you've died
you've been dead"
After this emotional confession,
he launched into a performance of Killed Before
from his collaborative tape with Future, Super Slimey.
The confession shed some new light on the meaning behind the lyrics,
especially the chorus, where he raps
“everyone know I’ve been killed before”.
But he ends the performance on a positive note, telling fans
“Drugs aren’t good, don’t do drugs”.
Drugs aren’t good, don’t do drugs.
Thankfully, Thug got the help he needed in time and was able to make a full recovery.
At least he pulled through and was able to share his story with fans,
so hopefully, they won’t go down that same path.
But part of the reason that Thug went down that path in the first place
was that he was inspired by other rappers who lived like rockstars.
This next rapper was one of Thug’s biggest influences
and also had a near-death experience because of drug addictions.
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne is one of the most beloved rappers of all time
and has influenced an entire generation of artists.
But the rapper has also lived a pretty wild life
and has come close to dying on more than one occasion.
The first time was when he was only 12 years old,
due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Wayne grew up in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.
His father walked out on the family when he was two years old
and he was raised by his mother and stepfather Reginald “Rabbit” McDonald.
Wayne was enrolled in a gifted program at Lafayette Elementary School
and started rapping at just 8 years old.
The following year, he was introduced to Bryan “Birdman” Williams,
who had just started Cash Money Records.
Birdman became a mentor to Wayne
and started bringing him to the studio to record music.
But apparently, Wayne’s mother
felt like his new associates were having a negative impact on him.
According to Wayne, at age 12
she told him that he couldn’t rap anymore or hang out with his friends at Cash Money,
which is when he attempted to take his own life.
In 1994, Wayne shot himself in the chest with his mother’s pistol,
barely missing his heart.
At the age of 12-years-old,
I shot myself.
I was in the house,
police knocked on the door, I was right there.
An off-duty police officer named Robert Hoobler
ended up saving his life by insisting that he be taken to the hospital in a cop car,
rather than wait for an ambulance.
'We called the ambulance'
A ******* ambulance? Do you not see this kid on the floor with this hole in his chest?
Said you, you drive.
Picked me up, brought me to the hospital
He didn't drop me off at the ambulance and say you take him
He brought me to the hospital room
and made it too and stood there and waited until the doctors said he's going to make it
Wayne has credited Hoobler with saving him and often refers to him as Uncle Bob.
He said don't worry, my name is Uncle Bob.
At the time, the family claimed that the shooting was accidental.
But Wayne himself later admitted that it was an attempt on his own life.
I pulled the trigger.
You actually pulled the trigger. Yeah,
I pulled the trigger
He even addressed it on the track Let it All Work Out from Tha Carter V in 2018.
Luckily, Wayne would pull through and his mother would agree
to let him continue to hang out with his rap friends.
He would drop out of school a few years later
and go on to have one of the most historic runs in the history of hip hop.
But, getting famous at such a young age took a toll on Wayne
and the rapper has struggled with addiction throughout his career.
In 2009, he sat down for an interview with Katie Couric
where he defended his drug use saying “Why in the hell should I stop drinking
whatever it is in my cup.
I think people need to mind their own business.
I don’t care if it was heroin in my cup.
It’s in my cup **** you.”
Why in the hell should I stop drinking whatever it is in my cup.
I think people need to mind their own business.
I don’t care if it was heroin in my cup.
It’s in my cup **** you.”
So clearly Wayne admitted to his drug use,
but didn’t see it as anyone else’s problem but his own.
In October 2012, the rapper’s private jet had to make an emergency landing in Texas,
after Wayne had a seizure onboard.
His publicist denied that it was drug-related but caused by a severe migraine and dehydration.
But, the following day the plane was forced to make another emergency landing,
this time in his home state of Louisiana,
because the rapper suffered another seizure.
In March 2013, he had to be taken to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles
after suffering from more seizures while on the set of a music video with Nikki Minaj.
According to TMZ, he was released from the hospital on March 13th,
but hours later was found unconscious after suffering from more seizures.
The article claimed that the seizures were caused by his abuse of codeine
and that Wayne almost lost his life after being put into a medically induced coma.
But members of Cash Money including Birdman and Mack Maine
have claimed that TMZ exaggerated the severity of his condition.
Throughout the years Wayne would continue to have seizures that put him in the hospital,
including once on a flight to California in 2016
and once in a Chicago hotel room in 2017.
After suffering multiple seizures,
Lil Wayne was put in a hospital overnight afterhe was found unconscious
inside a Chicago hotel room.
Wayne was supposed to perform at Dre's last night on the strip,
but of course canceled because of his health.
Because of all these close calls, Wayne has slowed down his drug use in recent years.
The rapper recently appeared in the video for the song Wockesha by Moneybagg Yo,
where he addressed his famous My Cup interview.
On the track, Wayne can be heard saying
“Yeah, I kinda put the cup down for a minute but uhm.
But honestly, it ain't nobody's business what's in my cup.
What's in your cup, what's in their cup.
It's your cup, drink it.
So whatever the hell was in my cup.
The only reaction I did was got more popular, more successful.
Than a lot more things that I've ever done. I probably should pick that cup back up”
So, it sounds like the rapper has made some changes to his lifestyle,
but still has no regrets.
At least he made the change before it was too late
and ended up losing his life over it.
But if you thought that was wild,
this next rapper almost lost his life in an act of God,
after his car was caught in a mudslide and almost swept up into the ocean.
Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy has lived a pretty wild life.
From being the first viral internet rap star, to going to jail for trolling too hard,
no one has had a career quite like Soulja Boy.
But possibly one of the craziest things to happen to the rapper
was when he was almost swept out into the Pacific ocean
after being caught up in a mudslide.
On January 5th, 2019,
Soulja was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu,
when it started to rain heavily.
The area had recently been devastated by wildfires and much of the ground was still unstable.
When it started to rain, it caused a flash flood and mudslide,
right in the area that Soulja was driving through.
The rapper ended up getting stuck in the mud
and barely escaped getting cast out into the ocean.
But luckily help arrived in time and Soulja made it out with no serious injuries.
The rapper later went on social media to let his fans know that he was still alive,
but had a close call.
He tweeted “My car got stuck too almost went into the ocean”,
sharing more pics of the storm.
He also said “I still haven’t got my car back
it’s stuck in the water in the middle of the mudslide.
He also later did a live session,
where he gave more details on the night he almost died.
He says that they were driving down the highway when it started pouring rain.
The tires kept getting stuck in the mud and when they got to the end of the road,
a worker told them they had to turn around.
So I was driving on the highway
streets started to get flooded
So like,
the tires kept spinning in the water and **** and the water kept getting higher and higher, so.
I get to the uhm,
I get like to the, end of the road.
and this dude telling us to turn around
It wasn't the police but like a worker like a,
like a side dude worker so he was like "Yo,".
He's like "Y'all gotta turn around."
But right at that moment, there was a mudslide and the car got permanently stuck.
In the middle of our u-turn
it was a mudslide.
Stuff started falling from the mountain,
and when the **** start falling from the mountain I guess like,
like some trees feel and ****.
And like my car got stuck.
It got to the point where water started rising around the car and got all the way to the window.
Plus, tree branches and other debris were falling from the side of the mountain
and pushing the car closer to the ocean.
So, Soulja ended up opening the sunroof and escaping the vehicle on foot.
I opened the sunroof
I opened the sunroof and jumped out the sunroof
He claims that for a moment,
he thought it was all over and he was going to die.
I sat on the tunk of the- I sat on the hood of the car,
and all the water was rising up
You know what I'm saying, by the time the water got the the god damn,
it kept rising up fast as ****
So I just thought, I'm like man I'm about to die I'm like damn I'm finna die
I was like,
it's over with you know what I'm saying so I'm praying to God.
But, as he was watching the water rise,
he started thinking about all the fans and supporters
who loved him and realized that he owed it to them to at least try to escape.
He started running/swimming through all the mud and water
and ended up being rescued by police and paramedics who were nearby.
So when I- when I jumped in the water
This **** started pushing me so
cause it's pushing me I'm like man this **** gonna
this **** gonna knock me in the water now
you know what I'm saying I should've just stayed in the car.
So I'm like **** it I took off running damn now I'm runnning
I'm running, but the water so high I'm damn near swimming
So I'm like running running running I see a light at the end of the road.
So I kept going to the light I kept going to the light
and I got to the light and the police grabbed me
they put the raincoat on me and **** put me in the paramedics and ****
He had to abandon the car and suffered a swollen nose and jaw
after slamming his face into the dashboard trying to get out of the mud.
I hit my face on the,
on the dashboard
god damn
When we hit the **** my face hit the ****
But at least he got out safely.
The rapper seemed to be in good spirits after making it to safety,
reposting a story about his near-death experience from Entertainment Tonight
on his own IG, with the caption “I’m just thankful to be alive,
I don’t care about the car it’s materialistic you can’t take it with you when you’re gone”
It would have been a major tragedy for the hip-hop community
to lose a national treasure like Soulja Boy in such a random accident like a mudslide.
But thankfully, the rapper was able to think quick and make it to safety before it was too late.
But if you thought that was crazy, this next rapper almost died in a plane crash,
after two tires popped right after takeoff.
Post Malone
Post Malone is one of the biggest artists in music.
With major hits like Rockstar and Congratulations under his belt,
Post has achieved superstar status by finding a way to blend different genres
including rock, pop, and hip hop.
But being a famous celebrity can’t protect you from everything and in 2018,
the rapper had a near-death experience after a plane he was in almost went down.
Plane with damaged tires made an emergency landing the plane,
was reportedly carrying rapper Post Malone
On August 21st, 2018,
Post was on a private flight leaving Teterboro Airport in New Jersey,
which was scheduled to land in Luton Airport in London.
But, shortly after take off, two of the tire’s popped
and the plane had to be rerouted to Stewart Airport for an emergency landing.
After spending about five hours in the air, the plane landed safely around 3:50 pm.
Immediately after landing, Post tweeted “i landed guys. thank you for your prayers.
can't believe how many people wished death on me on this website.
**** you. but not today”.
Post later sat down with Billboard and spoke about his near-death experience.
He said that he hates flying anyway and normally tries his best to just fall asleep.
But on this particular day,
he wasn’t tired and was wide awake for the whole thing.
He also said they tried to take off once, but there was a sensor malfunction
and they had to try again.
As soon as they took off the second time, they heard a loud pop and started to panic.
But, because they were headed for London,
the plane had too much fuel to make a landing immediately.
They had to fly around for a few hours to burn it off.
So, they had to sit on the plane for several hours, flying around in circles,
wondering if they were going to make it.
But despite all the anxiety,
they made a safe landing, and no one was injured.
If that wasn’t bad enough, just two weeks later,
the rapper would be involved in a serious car crash
after his Rolls Royce collided with another vehicle in Santa Monica.
Postmalone's Roll Royce Again and another car were pretty badly damaged in a crash this morning
Take a look, it happened just before 3 o'clock near Doheny and Santa Monica.
There's the damage there, you can see the driver door completely smashed in
again no one was seriously hurt, but the car was totaled.
After the crash, Post would take to social media and tweet "god must hate me lol".
But, God couldn’t hate him too much, as he did survive two very close calls.
But, it’s understandable that he was a little confused
after going through two near-death experiences in a matter of weeks.
It goes to show that being rich and famous can’t protect you from everything
and you have to appreciate life while you still can.
Luckily all of these rappers lived to talk about their experiences
with fans and can continue to make music.
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