Busta Rhymes has been proud to show off his weight loss transformation. In a recent interview with Tamron Hall for The Tamron Hall Show, the Brooklyn legend how the “Czar” video from his Extinction Level Event 2 album revealed one of the moments which prompted him to rededicate his life to getting his physical health on track.
“When I shot that video, there’s a scene of me wearing all white with a headwrap,” Busta told Hall in a clip shared on Friday (January 8). “When I initially put that all white on, it showed how badly out of shape I was on camera. So we went into the dressing room and they duct-taped my stomach down. With electric duct tape.”
The visual helped prompt Bus-A-Bus to lose a reported 86 pounds and he shared the results of his journey on Instagram in October.
“DON’T EVER GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!!” he wrote in all caps. “LIFE BEGINS RIGHT NOW!!! MY DEDICATION IS DIFFERENT!! I WOULD NEVER PUT OUT AN ALBUM AND NOT BE IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE!! I RESPECT MYSELF TOO MUCH AND I RESPECT Y’ALL TOO MUCH!!! I’M ONLY HERE TO INSPIRE!!”
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In November, Busta spoke with Van Jones for The Messy Truth and dove deeper into how his vices contributed to his unhealthy living and how he needed to change and at least return to a size not seen on the “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” rapper since the release of his 2006 album, The Big Bang. After a routine doctor’s appointment where his physician saw polyps developing in his throat, the doctor told Bus-A-Bus some sobering news.
“I’m like you need to tell me what the fuck you seeing, I need to hear what’s going on,” Busta said. “He says, ‘Your polyps grew so big that it blocked 90 percent of your breathing passage and if I send you home tonight and you sleep under the AC and catch a cold and that last 10 percent of breathing of your breathing passage gets blocked up you are going to die tonight.’ The moment was an emotional wake-up call. I just started crying.”
Watch the video for “Czar” with M.O.P. below.