Rapper and Child Star Bow Wow Reveals He 'Almost Died' After Becoming Addicted to Cough Syrup
In the wake of Mac Miller‘s death, Shad Moss, formerly known as Bow Wow, is speaking up about his own previous drug addiction.
Through a thread of messages tweeted out on Monday morning, the rapper advised his younger followers to stay away from drugs and admitted to using lean — a combination of promethazine and codeine-based cough syrup with soft drinks — “every day” a decade ago.
“To the youth- Stop with these dumb a— drugs,” he began. “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.”
According to Bow Wow, while collaborating with Omarion in 2007 for their Face Off album, his family and fans began to “turn on him” as a result of using the drug, claiming “everything changed” about him.
At another point in 2007, Bow Wow, now 31, recalled using the drug multiple times per day while on the UCP tour with Chris Brown. Still, the rapper notes, he never openly admitted to or “promoted” using lean in his songs.
“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.”
Bow Wow explained that the sudden cut-off from lean caused his body to suffer withdrawals, sending him to the hospital.
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“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 revealed. “I missed the chicago show of that tour baltimore show BECAUSE I WAS F— HIGH AND SICK!!!! that s— is not cool and i was doing it to be cool!”
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Bow Wow’s thread of tweets comes just three days after Mac Miller — who also claimed “overdosing was not cool” — died from an apparent overdose.
Miller was also candid about his lean use, claiming he used the drug to cope with depression. Similar to the Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta executive producer, Miller admitted that his reliance on lean during his 2012 Macadelic tour affected his relationships.
“I was so f–ed up all the time it was bad,” Miller admitted to Complex magazine. “My friends couldn’t even look at me the same. I was lost.”
While the realization of how damaging drugs are came too late for 26-year-old Miller, Bow Wow used the fellow rapper’s passing to send a message to his younger fan base.
“Kick that s—! Be a good son or daughter. Be the best you,” he wrote to 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 f— with syrup.”
Added the former child actor: “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 finished his thread by making a reference to 2007, when he and Omarion filmed the BET mini docu-series Road to Platinum.
“Go back and watch the face off show BET gave us! Look how dumb i looked,” he admitted of his on-screen behavior. “My ranting i was angry every day. They try to protect the truth by saying i was dehydrated… nawww bro. I WAS HIGH OFF PROMETHAZINE CODEINE! Actavis. SAY NO TO THESE DRUGS”
Bow Wow is currently on tour in Australia and New Zealand, with plans to kick off a national “So So Def 25th Anniversary Tour” in October. He also expects to release new music soon, sharing the news via Twitter on Tuesday.
