Lil’ Scrappy had a near-death experience earlier this week, according to TMZ.

The celebrity news website reports that the rapper was hospitalized in Atlanta on Tuesday (April 17) after suffering a severe asthma attack.

“I damn near died,” the Atlanta rapper told TMZ. “If it weren’t for my driver, mom and rap artist, I would have been dead.”

Scrappy went on to tell the site that he was drinking hard Monday night and when he woke up on Tuesday morning, he could barely breath and couldn’t talk. He had to be rushed to Emory University Hospital, where he was treated and released.

“I felt like I was dying,” said Scrappy, who added that he now owns a breathing machine, one that he’ll take with him wherever he goes.

Scrappy, who has worked with the likes of Lil Jon, 50 Cent and Three 6 Mafia, is perhaps most known for his boisterous, riotous 2003 single, “Head Bussa.”

His 2006 debut album, Bred 2 Die Born 2 Live, featured the likes of Yo Gotti, Yung Joc, Young Buck, and production from Eminem. The LP’s lead single was “Money in the Bank,” which featured Young Buck. That record was followed by “Gangsta Gangsta,” featuring and produced by Lil Jon, “Oh Yeah (Work),” featuring E-40 and Sean P of the YoungBloodZ and “Livin’ in the Projects” as the second, third and fourth singles, respectively.

The high-energy MC and self-proclaimed “Prince of the South” is currently prepping his next album, The Grustle, for a 2012 release.—Jakinder Singh

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