In this exclusive interview on the Tamron Hall show, rapper and producer extraordinaire Busta Rhymes discusses his nearly 100-pound weight loss and the loved one who inspired him to go on this health journey.
After the deaths of both his father and longtime manager, Busta found himself dealing with the overwhelming grief in destructive ways. On the one hand, he felt as though he was running away from his emotions by throwing himself into work, but it also led to extreme bouts of eating and drinking in excess.
“I actually think it was my place of escape. I didn’t feel like I could be honest around my kids. I didn’t feel like I could be honest around the people I was in business with and I had the pressure of still having to function,” Busta explained.
He wanted to make it clear that his weight gain during that time of extreme didn’t affect his “performance,” but he did feel like it affected his overall “appeal” as a musical artist.
Busta recalls that during a pivotal night out with his son, T’Ziah, his son experienced his dad having a bout of sleep apnea, which is a sleep condition in which you stop breathing and restart many times while you sleep that can be linked to individuals with increased body weight.
When his son had difficulty waking his dad up after that life-changing car ride, it felt as though it was time to make some changes.
To hear more about Busta’s weight loss story, as well as what it was like to lose his voice, check out his exclusive interview on the Tamron Hall show.
