'Break The Cycle!' Bow Wow Tells Fans He 'Almost Died' From Cough Syrup Addiction
Bow Wow wants the drug trend to end. Five days after fellow rapper Mac Miller died of an apparent overdose, the "Let Me Hold You" singer is speaking out to his fans, teens, peers and young artists about how un-cool addiction really is.
"To the youth- Stop with these dumb a** drugs," Bow Wow, 31, tweeted. "Im going to let something out. When me and omarion worked on FACE OFF album. I was high off lean everyday! When yall saw me on BET going off on torae i was high off lean. My attitude everything changed."
Here, the rapper is referring to the drug "Lean," also referred to as "Purple Drank, "Sizzurp," and "Purple Tonic." The substance is a mixture of cough syrup and soda, made popular by the hip hop community in the 1990s.
While in small quantities it can be harmless, it can also be extremely addictive thanks to the codeine and promethazine in the syrup, and can even cause things such as seizures, hallucinations, confusion and wheezing.
In his Twitter message, Bow Wow said that when he was taking Lean, "everything changed about him," so much so that he started missing shows, getting into fights, and causing his most loyal fans to turn on him.
"The whole time i was on the UCP tour with chris I WAS SIPPING 4's atleast 7 times a day," he admitted. "I was addicted until our show in Cincinnati.. i came off stg and passed out woke up in the hospital," said the rapper, recalling the time he suffered withdrawals from the drug and had to be hospitalized to receive treatment.
"I never felt a pain like that ever. It was summer but i was walking round with 3 hoodies on because i was so cold," he said. "I missed the chicago show of that tour baltimore show BECAUSE I WAS FU***NG HIGH AND SICK!!!! that s**t is not cool and i was doing it to be cool!"
Bow Wow is just one of hundreds of stars who have taken to social media to voice the dangers of drugs and addiction following Mac Miller's sudden passing.
Miller also previously opened up about his struggles with Lean, telling Complex before his death that he felt "lost" and his friends never looked at him the same.
Sadly, the "Dang!" star was not able to make it out of the darkness, an instead led himself to his early grave at just 26 years old.
While young celebrity deaths have become a horrific trend in the past few years, Bow Wow hopes that craze ends now.
"Kick that s**t! Be a good son or daughter. Be the best you," he told his followers. "Ima start being more vocal. We gotta save the youth from going out early. Parents watch your kids. Explain to them. We want yall to live man. I almost died fu***ng with syrup."
"DRUG FREE IS THE WAY TO BE! smarten up tighten up out here. We cant lose no more of you. Not one! I love all yall. The young artist all the kids around the world.. dont follow a trend. Break the cycle," Bow Wow concluded.
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