Boosie BadAzz Details the Day He Was Diagnosed With Cancer – Exclusive

Nearly two years have passed since Boosie BadAzz was released from prison on March 5, 2014. The 33-year-old hip-hop vet spent five years in a Louisiana prison on drug charges, but the past is now behind him.

Since his release, Boosie has dropped a ton of music. He debuted the Life After Deathrow mixtape in October of 2014, changed his name from Lil Boosie to Boosie BadAzz during that same month and dropped his comeback album, Touch Down 2 Cause Hell last May. The LP was a success, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Things were looking great for Boosie at the time and he was back in hip-hop's spotlight. Then news came that would change his life. On Nov. 25, 2015, the Trill Entertainment/Atlantic Records signee revealed on Instagram that he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.

"I need all my fans to pray for me Doctor just told me I have cancer on my kidneys prayer is power that's why I'm letting the world know prayfaboosie," he wrote before deleting the caption and leaving the photo up on Instagram.

The Baton Rouge, La. native has always had health problems over the years and has never been shy with discussing his battle with diabetes. But this was heartbreaking. Boosie underwent surgery to remove half of his kidney in December of last year and shortly after, announced that he was cancer-free.

During the next two months, while Boosie was recovering to get back in good health, he turned to music for therapy. Birthed from his frustrations and pain came In My Feelings (Goin' Thru It) in January. As he got stronger, his tone changed and earlier this month, he dropped Out My Feelings (In My Past) to let the world know he's back and badder than ever.

XXL got Boosie BadAzz on the phone to discuss the day he received the news of his cancer diagnosis, recovering from surgery, his new music and appearing in Young Thug's new video for his aptly titled track "Fuck Cancer."

So describe the day you were diagnosed with cancer? Take me through that whole day.

I woke up and my stomach was hurtin’. I had threw up and I was going to the hospital anyway because before I leave out every weekend I go get fluid so I’ll be strong and I won't be dehydrated. My stomach was hurting, so I just told the doctor, let me get a MRI. I went and got an MRI and two hours later, they told me I had got cancer. I said something like, "Hell no. I ain’t got no caner, y’all trippin’." Then I told him "Let's go back down there," and I got another MRI. And they came back [again] and said I got cancer. I was hurtin’ man because I already lost two aunties and an uncle to cancer in 2015 so I was hurting.

You made the announcement on Instagram and caught a lot of people off guard. Who reached out first and was with you since you found out you had cancer?

It was really my friends and my family, the ones closet to me. Some of my friends stayed around the whole time. My family, they were the closest people to me. I needed their love. It was mostly my family and my friends and my fan’s prayers. When I got diagnosed, I went on IG and told my fans to pray for me because I know prayer is power. I just wanted everybody to keep me in their prayers and help me out.

What was going through your mind the day of your surgery?

I think I was more confident the day I went in because the two days before you got to go through the anesthesia process and I was like, damn how long am I going to be sleep. But Dr. Wood, my cancer doctor, the day before my surgery he talked to me and he was like, “It is nothing to worry about. I’ve done over 5,000 surgeries. Just like you, how many concert that you done, this is what I do.” He made me confident that I was coming out.

So that day I was more confident then the two days before because the two days before, that’s when I’m signing all these papers, like if this happens and if that happens. But when I talked to the guy who was cutting on me, that strengthen me up. I knew I was going to be sleep. I just went to sleep and woke up like four hours later and it was gone. They took like some of my kidney out. I still got a kidney and a half. But I had a successful surgery, I didn’t need chemo, radiation or nothing like that.

So where’s your health at right now?

I’m cancer-free right now. After my surgery I stayed in cancer rehab for a month and two weeks. That was crazy but ever since I’ve been released I’ve been cancer-free. I got a trainer, trying to get my weight back. I had lost 42 pounds, so right now I’m just working to get all the way back health. Right now, I’m healthier than I ever been. I’m back doing shows. I have more wind now than I had doing shows before I had cancer. So I’m in a good point in my life. I’m cancer-free.

You were just released from prison a little less than two years ago. Now you go to the doctor and discover you have cancer. Did you get mad at life?

Yeah, I was pissed off. I don’t like to question God but I really asked him why. Why it’s always me to go through these serious situations; not no petty shit. But I just prayed to God and was like he put me through this to make me stronger again. It’s just another obstacle I’m going to overcome. But I was questioning him and that’s not something I am supposed to do. But damn, kidney cancer man? I was hurt; I cried bro. I’m a strong person but I was hurt. I was like, damn bro.

How important was making In My Feelings (Goin' Thru It) and Out My Feelings (In My Past) for you?

I was just released out of the hospital and I had some anger in me too. I had a lot of anger in me and I was so small. I was out my feelings. The In My Feelings album I was fighting, man. I was in my feelings, I was sad. Out My Feelings, I was back, I was ready to talk this gangsta shit. It felt like I got stronger from this album.

So making those albums was therapeutic for you?

This is how I express myself. This is how I tell my story. This is how I touch people’s heart. That what my music do, it touches people. It’s not something that they are going to hear and forget about. I can go to a concert and do something I did 12 years ago and it touches people. I have fans they see me and they cry. My music is special to people and I’m going to keep on making this kind of music because a lot of people had a struggle like me. You got to feel my music. If you listen to it, if you give me a second, you play three, four songs, you will become a fan.

How did the “Fuck Cancer” collaboration come about?

[Young] Thug hit me like, "I got this record and we need to come to the house and shoot the video, It’s called 'Fuck Cancer.'” I be down, I don’t be doing shit at the crib, so I was like bring the crew. He said he going to bring an ambulance, so I said bring everything, let's do it. Thug was motivating, he was like, "Fuck that cancer. You’re going to beat it." I go on the internet and I hear Thug going off about it. They already had the script, it was going to be Thug motivating me to get out of bed and letting me know fuck this cancer.

I was with it. I’m always with collabos with people to make music and make videos because this what feeds my family. It was shot all in one day in different parts of my house. At first they were going to take the party scene somewhere else but I was like, "Hell no. I got a whole party basement [laughs]." We got all kinds of cake and stuff; I was like, "Man, give me that Mexican hat I want to put that Mexican hat on." We got to clownin’ at the end of the video, we were having fun. That was the turn up part.

How did the C-Murder collaborative album come together? When do you see that dropping?

I think its going to come out April, late May, not sure. I’m not sure yet. But that just came about because we just made music. We got it done. It’s a nice album too. Me and C, we slept right by each other for two years. When you sleep by somebody for that long you’ve become like brothers. We just made it happen. We bosses. We just make shit happen.

See 40 Hip-Hop Albums Turning 20 in 2016