Answer Addiction

Tag: rappers and addiction

  • Lil Xan Describes Withdrawals After Quitting Drugs Cold Turkey

    Lil Xan Describes Withdrawals After Quitting Drugs Cold Turkey

    “I wanted to stop drugs completely, but I did it the wrong way.”

    Rapper Lil Xan has never been secretive about his relationship with drugs and his quest to become sober. The “Whipped Cream” rapper recently relapsed after spending time in rehab late last year and he spoke to TMZ about how quitting cold turkey affected his body.

    Lil Xan, born Nicholas Diego Leanos, told TMZ that he stepped out of the public eye after relapsing on hydrocodone and Xanax. Following the relapse, Xan entered the hospital to detox and would go on to suffer several seizures during the strenuous process.

    Withdrawals

    “The withdrawals actually gave me seizures,” the 23-year-old Soundcloud rapper told TMZ. “It was a wake-up call … they said it was from just going cold turkey off of Xanax. I wanted to stop drugs completely, but I did it the wrong way.”

    Lil Xan’s battle with addiction has been a public one, like many of his peers. After seeing his hero Mac Miller and his friend Lil Peep succumb to their addictions at the start of their very promising careers, Xan decided it was time to get help for his addiction.

    Miller’s 2018 overdose death left Xan shaken and unsure if he wanted to continue making music. During an appearance on Adam22’s No Jumper podcast last September, Xan said,  “When your hero dies, f—k that s—t,” he said. “I don’t want to make music no more.”

    During the podcast, Xan also spoke about his desire to get sober.  

    “I want to get sober now, completely sober, but it’s so hard,” he told Adam22. “I just want to be off everything. I want to be like a normal person. If I didn’t have a tour coming up, I would be in rehab right now.”

    Losing Lil Peep

    A year prior to Mac Miller’s overdose, Xan lost a close peer to addiction. Gustav Elijah Åhr, better known as YouTube star and rapper Lil Peep, died in November 2017 from a fatal overdose. Fentanyl, Xanax, marijuana, cocaine and Tramadol were found in the 21-year-old’s system, according to a toxicology report.

    Xan said that Peep was on his mind a lot during his most recent relapse. The rapper entered rehab last December and checked out two weeks later. He has relapsed a couple times but the latest relapse made him withdraw from the public eye while he dealt with his health. 

    “It has to come from within,” Xan said about sobriety last year. “I’ve gone through periods of like, six months. And now it’s because of me. It’s because I want to be clean.”

    Xan says that he’s now “completely sober.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Bow Wow Reveals Past Addiction, Urges Fans To Be "Drug Free"

    Bow Wow Reveals Past Addiction, Urges Fans To Be "Drug Free"

    The 31-year-old rapper got candid about his past battle with lean and how it affected his life. 

    In the wake of rapper Mac Miller’s suspected fatal drug overdose, fellow artist Bow Wow admitted that he, too, struggled with substance abuse.

    The rapper, actor and TV personality, born Shad Moss, said that a decade ago, he would drink “lean” every day—alienating his fans and family, and affecting his physical health long-term.

    After overcoming that period of his life, Bow Wow now has a different message for his fans: “Stop with these dumb ass drugs.”

    “Kick that shit! Be a good son or daughter. Be the best you,” he wrote on Twitter. “We gotta save the youth from going out early. Parents watch your kids. Explain to them. We want y’all to live man.”

    Moss said he “almost died” from using syrup like he did. He admitted that he was using “the whole time” during the Up Close and Personal tour with Chris Brown (2007), and missed shows because he was “high and sick.” He was also hospitalized from going through withdrawals.

    “To this day I’m affected. My stomach will never be the same and it hasn’t been,” Bow Wow continued in his tweets. He says it changed everything, from his attitude to his relationships. “My fans started to turn on me, my family too,” he wrote.

    This candid confession came as fans and fellow artists mourn the passing of rapper Mac Miller, who died on Friday, September 7. Many suspect a drug overdose, but toxicology tests will take weeks to confirm the cause of death.

    The rapper (born Malcolm McCormick) was candid about his problems with depression, drug use, and suicidal thoughts. In a 2013 interview with Complex, he described using “lean”—a cough-syrup based drink—to cope with feelings of depression. “I was not happy and I was on lean very heavy [during the Macadelic tour]. I was so fucked up all the time it was bad. My friends couldn’t even look at me the same. I was lost,” he said at the time.

    Bow Wow, who is currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand, said he’s going to “start being more vocal” about these issues.

    “Drug free is the way to be! Smarten up, tighten up out here,” he wrote on Twitter. “We can’t lose no more of you. Not one! I love all y’all. The young artist all the kids around the world… don’t follow a trend. Break the cycle.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Lil Xan Says Mac Miller's Overdose Death Made Him Want To Quit Music

    Lil Xan Says Mac Miller's Overdose Death Made Him Want To Quit Music

    The 22-year-old rapper discussed how Miller’s death has impacted him during a recent podcast interview. 

    The death of hip-hop artist Mac Miller (born Malcolm James McCormick) has left many of his fans devastated, including fellow rapper Lil Xan, who has claimed that he will retire in the wake of his peer’s passing.

    In a recent appearance on a podcast, Leanos states that the news of McCormick’s death left him “crying in [his] apartment” and unwilling to “make music no more” [sic]. McCormick’s death, from what authorities have described as an apparent overdose, also gave Leanos pause to consider his own drug use and mental health issues, which he said he would be addressing in rehab if he did not have upcoming tour dates.

    Speaking live on Adam22’s podcast No Jumper on September 8—one day after McCormick was found dead in his home in Studio City, California—Leanos said that he was overwhelmed by the news. “I’ve been crying in my apartment, ‘Mac didn’t die, Mac didn’t overdose,”” he said. 

    He also recalled the last time he saw McCormick, which happened to be at the rapper’s final performance at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles shortly before his death. “Before I left, he was like, ‘Be safe,’” said Leanos. “People say that, you know: ‘Be safe.’ But he grabbed me, and he pulled me back, and he was like, ‘No, I mean, BE SAFE.’ That almost made me cry. That’s my idol right there. I keep thinking about that—how it resonated in my head, how those were his last words.”

    According to Leanos, the experience of McCormick’s words, followed by the news of his death, left him unwilling to continue his music career. “When your hero dies, f—k that s—t,” he said. “I don’t want to make music no more.” After the completion of his current recording contract, Leanos claimed that he planned to retire, though he did not elaborate on this particular decision.

    McCormick’s death also put Leanos in a reflective mood regarding his own substance use. His use of Xanax—the drug that gave him his stage name—and opiates like Norco have been well-publicized in the past, but in his No Jumper interview, Leanos suggested that he continued to struggle with sobriety.

    “I want to get sober now, completely sober, but it’s so hard,” he told Adam22, whose real name is Adam Grandmaison. “I just want to be off everything. I want to be like a normal person. If I didn’t have a tour coming up, I would be in rehab right now.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mac Miller Dies At Age 26

    Mac Miller Dies At Age 26

    Miller was found dead in his home of an apparent drug overdose.

    Rapper Mac Miller was found dead in his home in Studio City, California on Friday (September 7). The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner pronounced Miller dead at 11:51 am, People confirms, and a source says his death was caused by cardiac arrest following a drug overdose.

    “Malcolm McCormick, known and adored by fans as Mac Miller, has tragically passed away at the age of 26,” his family wrote in a media press release. “He was a bright light in this world for his family, friends and fans. Thank you for your prayers. Please respect our privacy. There are no further details as to the cause of his death at this time.”

    Miller was born in Pittsburgh and struck fame at age 18 with his fourth mixtape, K.I.D.S., in 2010. He was in a public relationship with pop star Ariana Grande for about two years until they broke up earlier this year.

    Just hours before he died, Miller was posting videos of himself in a recording studio on Instagram.

    He had struggled with substance abuse throughout his life. His most recent episode came just a week after his public breakup with Grande when he was arrested for drunk driving. He ran into a power pole and fled, but law enforcement was able to match the plates to his Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and charged him with DUI and hit-and-run.

    “I made a stupid mistake. I’m a human being,” Miller explained at the time. “But it was the best thing that could have happened. Best thing that could have happened. I needed that. I needed to run into that light pole and literally have the whole thing stop.”

    Fellow musicians openly mourned Miller’s passing on social media.

    “I dont know what to say Mac Miller took me on my second tour ever. But beyond helping me launch my career he was one of the sweetest guys I ever knew,” Chance the Rapper tweeted. “Great man. I loved him for real. Im completely broken. God bless him.”

    Post Malone also shared condolences.

    “God fucking dammit. You were such an incredible person. You changed so many lives. Had so much love in your heart,” Malone wrote on Twitter, “You inspired me throughout highschool, and I wouldn’t be where I was today without you. Never a more kind and sincere and beautiful person. I fucking love you mac.”

    View the original article at thefix.com