PREVIEW: Bun B Speaks on Lil Wayne’s Syrup Addiction

With the recent death of his partner Pimp C, Bun B has had to field a slew of questions about the predominantly Southern trend of sipping “syrup” or “lean”—prescription-strength cough syrup laced with codeine and promethazine. While a number of factors—including an existing sleep disorder—contributed to Pimp’s sudden passing, he was also found to have lean in his system at the time of his death. Lil Wayne has also been the subject of much speculation of late as a result of the white Styrofoam cup of the stuff that he seemingly never leaves home without. In a recent interview with MTV News, Wayne admitted that he is addicted to the concoction, but expressed disdain with the criticism he has endured because of his problem. According to Wayne, fighting an addition is one of the hardest battles someone can fight and he’s appreciate if people would consider that before judging him. In a recent interview with Rhapsody.com, Bun B expressed similar sentiments.

Rhapsody: Lil Wayne recently made a lot of headlines by admitting to being addicted to syrup [prescription-strength cough syrup]. What were your thoughts?
Bun B: I wish they would just leave the kid alone. When you have 100 people telling you to not do something, that sh*t doesn’t work like that. Now me, I hadn’t sipped syrup for a while before Pimp died. Does that mean I let all my vices go? F*ck no. I’m still drinking and smoking weed. Ike Turner died of cocaine use. People haven’t stopped snorting cocaine. Thousands of people die drunk driving every year and somebody is going to drive home drunk tonight. People stop doing things whenever they sort of feel their way up to it. The kid said he would love to stop, but the withdrawals symptoms are too intense for him. Anybody going through something like that knows that’s what it is. I say this to all media, you can’t force Lil Wayne to stop sipping drank. That’s gonna be a personal choice. For all these people that love to put his sh*t on blast, I would love for them to put their vices on front street. Walk around with your proverbial white cup with you all day and see if you could handle the pressure.

Check out the rest of the interview for Bun’s thoughts about own battles with syrup and other drugs and why he held back on his verse for Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin.’”

Click here to read the full interview