Earlier this month, Yelawolf was hospitalized in Madison, Wisconsin and had to cancel subsequent shows to deal with his injury. Now, for the first time, the Interscope rapper is speaking on what happened.

“It started in Los Angeles when I jumped out of some rafters,” Yela said to Rhyme and Reason Magazine of the origins of his injury. “I just climbed up some rafters and jumped out; stage dived. I landed on someone’s head and come to find [out] a month later that I broke their nose. I landed on someone’s face, and I might have ruptured my spleen then.”

Things got worse soon after, when he took another dive into the crowd.

“In Madison, Wisconsin, I jumped in the crowd, and I just think I hit my back right on a button, and it popped and I started bleeding internally and ruptured my spleen,” he continued. “I knew something was wrong immediately. The pain was crazy.”

The Alabama native ended up being taken to the hospital to deal with the serious injury.

“I got rushed to the hospital and spent a couple days in I.C.U., [then] a couple more days in the hospital,” he recalled. “It was serious. [I] signed some serious paperwork over to the team of surgeons and shit. But I recovered without having to have my spleen removed, which is a miracle. I had to cut my tour off, though. It’s been like three weeks since my injury. I stayed in Madison recovering; my girl, Fefe [Dobson], just camped out and doctored me up for those two weeks. Got back up on my feet and this is my first touch down back to work, is in Australia. But I’m taking it easy. I’m not trying to do anything stupid.”

The 2011 XXL Freshman also said that the incident gave him new perspective—and not just in that he won’t be jumping into the crowd again in the near future.

“These last two weeks have been pretty surreal,” he admitted, still showing signs of being shaken by the incident. “Sitting in that I.C.U. with those fucking plugs hooked up to my body, and signing papers that say, ‘If you die, we’re not responsible.’ [It] put my life in check. That was pretty surreal. I put a lot together these last three weeks. I feel like I’m coming back with a new vision. I feel refreshed and thankful. That’s been a very eye-opening experience. [I’m] just feeling closer to myself, and God and appreciative of the people around me who I love and have supported me so far, and I just wanna continue to do what I’ve been blessed with, and not to look back or let any of these fucking haters stifle what I’m doing.

"Just staying focused and doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I got a God-given talent, and realizing that is a gift," he added. "I think I’m just growing into my own, finally. So my next album is going to speak volume to that.” —Adam Fleischer

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