Rapper Busta Rhymes says he’s motivated to lose weight after an alarming sexual experience.
“One night I was preparing to have an intimate moment with my ex,” he recalled during a recent cover interview with men health dedicated to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.
rhymes said he found it “really hard to breathe” after that moment.
“I got up and walked out of the bedroom so she wouldn’t panic when she saw me trying to keep calm. I tried to breathe in and it felt like it wasn’t working,” continued Rhymes, born Trevor George Smith Jr. “It scared me so much it was insane because I had to stay calm and make sure she didn’t hear me panicking or having trouble breathing.”
He added, “I felt like I was having an asthma attack — but I don’t have asthma.”
The “Touch It” rapper, who weighed about 340 pounds in 2019, said he left the bedroom and went into the living room while “forcing me to breathe in and relax.”
After returning to the bedroom, the father-of-six revealed his now-ex had said something to him that “really pissed him off”.
“She was like, ‘Yo, that’s not the one I fell in love with,'” he said. “She didn’t know what happened outside, but she looked at my body and the weight. She said, ‘You need to lose that weight. That breathing scares me.'”
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The ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See’ hitmaker admitted his exchange with his ex prompted him to make lifestyle changes.
Rhymes, who lost about 100 pounds, told Men’s Health that he gained weight after his father died in 2014.
“I drowned myself at work,” he said of coping with his father’s death. “I just kept drinking, smoking, eating poorly – it’s gross – and recording a lot of songs just to escape the pain.”
Rhymes said after “eating and drinking up to 340 pounds” he developed polyps on his vocal cords that blocked 90% of his airway, affecting his breathing and threatening his career as a presenter.
Rhymes, who is preparing for a tour with fellow rapper 50 Cent, said he is currently getting on stage.
“I’m trying to bend forward, sculpt those six pack abs, work the pecs, cover the shoulders, work the trapezius, triceps — you know, slim the waist, flatten the stomach, the Working out your back muscles so you can take it “Take off your t-shirt on stage,” he said.
Back in May 2021, the hitmaker said Men’s Health In a separate interview, he said that getting in shape was a matter of “survival” for him.
“I don’t just get fit to look good with my music,” he told the outlet at the time. “I was raised to protect and care for my family and people. I don’t know how to be different. I must contribute in any way I can, even if it means doing physical work to ensure survival.”
He also gushed about his fitness regimen, which he said consists of multiple workouts a day and frequent high-protein meals.
