addiction

Famous Dex Celebrates 11 Months of Sobriety

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Famous Dex has reached a major health milestone. Dex has captivated audiences for years. Moreover, his skill as an artist was evident right out of the gate. Indeed, Dex’s debut album peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 200. Dex Meets Dexter featured such standouts as “Pick it Up” and “Japan.” However, despite his talent, Dex’s career has been hampered by substance abuse issues. The rapper has been open about his struggles with addiction over the years. Subsequently, several rehab attempts failed. His latest stint in rehab was last September. It followed a jail sentence for violating a protective order his girlfriend got against him.

TMZ Hip Hop recently caught up with Dex at LAX. Initially, the reporter credited Dex on his appearance compared to the last time the pair saw each other. Dex responded to the compliment with a major update on his health. “I’m not doing drugs no more,” the rapper confidently stated. “I’ve been drug clean for 11 months.” Addiction can take a toll on both the body and the mind. However, Dex’s improvement in health has clearly done wonders for him mentally. During the interview, Dex removed his sunglasses to reveal his eyes. “I’m happy and I’m healthy,” he said.

Famous Dex Shares Inspiring Words For Those Struggling With Addiction

Moreover, Dex’s recovery can be seen as an inspiration to anyone struggling with the same issues. Subsequently, Dex had a message for anyone thinking about giving up. “Keep God first, and don’t forget where you come from.” he said. “We might give up, but God don’t.” The rapper’s final piece of advice was simply to “stay humble.” Meanwhile, these are also exciting times for the Chicago native in terms of music. Dex recently took to Instagram to announce he had signed a new $5.6 million dollar deal with 300 records. The rapper had already been signed to the label before. However, the new deal is possibly the result of renegotiations.

Elsewhere, Dex teamed up with Rich the Kid and Jay Critch on the single “Where’s Dexter” earlier this year. It appears that Dex may finally be putting his issues behind him. Moreover, his fans will be hoping the rapper can stay healthy so he can put out more bangers in the future.

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Macklemore Reflects On Addiction, Says It Is “Like An Allergy

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Macklemore discussed his past struggles with substance abuse and getting sober during a new interview on the health podcast, On Purpose with Jay Shetty. The Grammy-winning rapper revealed that his addiction began when he was just 14 years old. When he had his first shot of alcohol at the time, it quickly became 12 shots within a span of 30 minutes.

“The easiest way for me to describe it is that it was like an allergy,” Macklemore, told host Jay Shetty. “It was once I had a sip or a hit or a sniff or whatever it was, I wanted more and I couldn’t turn that off. And I never could.” From there, he admitted that he didn’t understand the root of his problems until he met “a community of men in recovery,” in particular, those who had experienced “sexual trauma.”

Macklemore Performing In 2014

LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 20: Rapper Macklemore performs onstage during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival Village on September 20, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

“I had been lucky enough that I had already been to rehab,” he said. “I had already understood that this is the disease of addiction. This is an incurable disease.” He continued, “This is something that I don’t graduate from. This is something that I don’t go into remission — like this will be with me forever. And as a daily reprieve and a daily practice, what am I doing for my recovery?”

Later, Macklemore credited his wife, Tricia Davis, with helping him throughout his recovery. The two married back in 2015 and share three children: Colette Koala, 4, Sloane Ava Simone, 7, and Hugo Jack, who is 17 months.

As of now, Macklemore says he’s two years sober. “There’s so much work to be done. I’ve been in and out of the rooms of recovery for 14 years now, and I relapsed at the beginning of Covid,” he admitted. “So I have a couple years, but I still feel like a newcomer. I still feel like this is brand new and I’m just on the precipice of figuring out something that’s gonna open a new door.”

Macklemore On Overcoming Addiction

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Cara Delevingne Gets Real About Addiction: “There’s An Element Of Feeling Invisible”

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It’s a season of healing for Cara Delevingne. In recent months, the model has been at the center of concerns after disturbing images surfaced online and reports about her strange behavior took over social media. Those “sources” were popping up from one outlet to another to offer anonymous insight into what was going on behind the scenes. This week, Delevingne’s Vogue cover feature was released, and inside, she speaks openly about her road to recovery.

At the time of her interview, the model was approximately four months sober. “If you have problems going into this industry, they will only get magnified and exacerbated. There is nothing about it that makes it better,” she said. In September, Delevingne was photographed at a Los Angeles airport looking disheveled. She now offers an explanation.

Cara Delevingne’s Addictions Go Back To Adolescence

“I hadn’t slept. I was not okay. It’s heartbreaking because I thought I was having fun, but at some point it was like, Okay, I don’t look well.” Delevingne added those photos were taken when she had just arrived back home from Burning Man. “You know, sometimes you need a reality check, so in a way those pictures were something to be grateful for.”

She further admits that her struggles began when she was just a teen. “I was happy as a kid for sure, but I think when I grew up, I looked back and realized, That’s not normal,” said Delevingne. “And then as a teenager, it just all came plummeting down. That’s also when I started drinking and partying. There was this need to escape and change my reality as I was hit with just huge questions: What am I doing here? Who am I trying to be?”

A History Of Addiction

After being diagnosed with dyspraxia, Delevingne was placed on several medications. At 15, she suffered a breakdown, but she told Vogue the medications helped save her. Delevingne’s mother also struggled with addiction, and she’s hoping to stop the cycle. “There’s an element of feeling invincible when I’m on drugs. I put myself in danger in those moments because I don’t care about my life.” She revisited that time at Burning Man. “I would climb anything and jump off stuff…it felt feral. It’s a scary thing to the people around you who love you.”

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Flavor Flav Details Battling $2,400 A Day Drug Addiction

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Flavor Flav said he spent a total of $5M over the course of six years on drugs at the height of his addiction.

Flavor Flav celebrated two years of sobriety in October but in a recent interview, he detailed the worst point of his addiction. At the time, he spent over $2,000 a day to keep up with his habit for over half a decade.

LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 17: Rapper Flavor Flav arrives at the 9th Annual Multicultural Prism Awards at the Henry Fonda “Music Box” Theatre on December 17, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Flav sat down with Akademiks for his On The Record where he opened up about his battle against addiction during their interview. The Public Enemy co-founder revealed that he “never really let people know exactly” the extent of how bad things got, such as the amount of money he spent on substances.

“There was a time that I was spending $2,400 to $2,600 a day… for six years straight. You do the math,” he said. “That’s how much I spent on drugs.”

He later admitted that he spent $1M annually on drugs at the worst points of his addiction. He was also selling at the same time, though he would dip into his own stash. 

CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 05: Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy perform at House Of Blues Chicago on December 5, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Daniel Boczarski/Redferns via Getty Images)

“I ain’t gonna lie, I sold a lot. But I was my best customer … I had a lot of money at the time too. I was just doing the wrong things with my money,” Flav recalled.

In 2020, he decided to get clean and began his journey toward sobriety, which he has since maintained.

“I guess God wanted me to live. And he knows that I’m a mouthpiece to the world,” he said. “So, I feel that God let me live through that. So that way, I could teach people about the mistakes that I made. And hopefully, they won’t make them later on in life.”

Erick Sermon Reflects On Overcoming Opioid Addiction

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Erick Sermon says that he spent time in a rehab facility in 2022 while battling an addiction to opioids. The EPMD rapper detailed his experiences in a candid post on Instagram, Saturday.

“2023 WOW. so blessed to have lived this long,” Erick Sermon wrote. “Life isn’t guaranteed so don’t take it for granted. I’m fresh out of rehab . 7 months clean from opioids..During this time my moms was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer liver kidney and chest. Changed my entire life around.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 20: Erick Sermon of EPMD performs at It’s Time For Hip Hop In NYC: Queens at Forest Hills Stadium on August 20, 2021 in New York, New York. (Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images)

He continued: “My family is being attacked from every angle but the devils a liar. I’m believe that my GOD has us.. time to move forward in a loving manner. Without love it doesn’t work. Believe me Through all of this I love life I just wanna find a different way to function in it. Blessings ppl.”

Sermon didn’t get into specifics regarding how much time he spent at the treatment facility. Numerous friends and fans of Sermon’s shared their support in the comments section, including DJ Scratch.

“I’m so happy you finally went & got some help. I’m proud of you @erick_sermon,” Scratch wrote.

In addition to reflecting on his addiction struggles, Sermon reminded fans to be on the lookout for his next album, Dynamic Duos.

“Oh yeah. My new project on the 300 label coming SOON,” he went on. “Don’t ever think I’m gonna stop. DYNAMIC DUO S. u never heard anything like this before.”

Sermon previously mentioned working with Dr. Dre for the first time on the upcoming project.

Check out Erick Sermon’s full post below.

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