Dr. Dre is getting candid about his health after experiencing a brain aneurysm more than three years ago.
The rapper appeared on the March 14 episode of SiriusXM’s “This Life of Mine with James Corden” and opened up about the health issues he’s faced in recent years, including a brain aneurysm in January 2021 and "three strokes" after.
Dre recalled the moments leading up to his aneurysm, telling Corden, “I just woke up and I felt something right behind my right ear, and I almost felt like the worst pain I ever felt, and I got up and I went on about my day and I thought that I could just lay down and take a nap.”
However, a friend of his son’s insisted that they take him to the hospital instead.
“Next thing you know, I’m blacking out. I’m in and out of consciousness and I ended up in the ICU,” he explained. “I was there for two weeks.”
Dre said he experienced three strokes during his stint in the ICU at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
“I’m hearing the doctors coming in, and (saying) ‘You don’t know how lucky you are,’ and I asked questions like, ‘What could I have done to prevent this?’ and nobody could give me an answer,” he said.
Dre previously addressed his health scare in an Instagram post shared on Jan. 5, 2021, while he was still in the hospital.
“Thanks to my family, friends and fans for their interest and well wishes,” he wrote at the time. “I’m doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team. I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!”
During his conversation with Corden, Dre said at the time he “had no idea” he had high blood pressure because he exercised and did “everything I can to keep myself healthy.”
“I said, ‘Would that have prevented it if I had worked out a little bit harder or ate different or something like that?’ It’s like, no. That’s hereditary,” he added. “High blood pressure in Black men, that’s just what it is. They call it the silent killer. You just have no idea, so you know, you have to keep your s--- checked.”
According to the American Heart Association, 55% of Black adults have high blood pressure and experience disproportionately high rates of severe high blood pressure later in life.
Dr. Dre's health now
When Corden asked how this experience affected his outlook on life, Dre said, “I don’t know that it had a significant change on what I’m doing in the future or how I want to live my life.”
“I’m not saying, ‘OK, I’m just gonna go f------ crazy because who knows if the lights are gonna come out tomorrow,’” he clarified. “I don’t think about it like that. I just think it was something that just happened to me. It definitely makes you appreciate being alive.”
He said after the health scare he realized he had "no control."
"It’s just something that could happen out of the blue. You wake up and you go, “S---. OK. I’m here,'" Dre said.
Dre recently launched Gin & Juice, an alcoholic beverage company with longtime friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg. The announcement of the company on Feb. 10 marked Dre's first Instagram post since May 2022.
Dre often steps out for events, including the 2023 Met Gala and Grammy Awards, the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop and NBA games.
Dre also notably took the stage during the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show and performed alongside Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar.