Claire Reid
Busta Rhymes says he was spurred on to lose weight after becoming breathless and fearing he was having an asthma attack after sex.
The 51-year-old rapper, whose real name is Trevor Smith Jr, recalled the exact moment he knew he needed to work on his health.
During an interview with Men’s Health, he spoke about how he began to feel unwell after having sex with his wife three years ago - prompting him to take a look at his fitness regime.
He told the publication he had to stop mid...erm...performance and exit the room so his partner wouldn't see what state he was in.
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Busta shared: “I got up and I walked out of the bedroom so she wouldn’t panic seeing me trying to keep myself calm.
“I was trying to inhale, and it felt like it wasn’t working. I felt like I was having an asthma attack — but I don’t have asthma.
"So I walked out of the bedroom and went into the living room, and I was forcing myself to inhale, to relax.”
Although he made the best efforts to hide how he was feeling, his partner noticed and had some pretty strong words for the rapper.
“She was like, ‘Yo, this is not who I fell in love with’,” he went on.
“She didn’t know what had happened outside, but she was looking at my body and the weight.
“She was like, ‘You gotta lose this weight. This breathing is scaring me. When I met you, you wasn’t like a muscle head, but you was slim, you was cut, you had your s**t right. I need you to get back to who I fell in love with.’”
Busta threw himself into a healthier lifestyle and showed off his dramatic transformation on Instagram in 2020, with a before and after shot.
In a 2021 interview with Men’s Health, he revealed that he’d lost a whopping 100lbs since embracing a healthier way of living and not only that, he was also ‘sleeping better, moving better’ and felt that he was in a better position to support and take care of those he loved.
"I ain't just getting in shape to look good with my music," he told the publication.
"I was raised to protect and provide for my family and my people. I don't know how to be any other way. I have to contribute in any way I can, even if that means engaging in physicality to ensure survival."