Dr. Dre is opening up about his close brush with death.
The hip-hop legend suffered a brain aneurysm last year and things got so bad that his family gathered at the hospital to say their goodbyes. Speaking with Dolvett Quince, Dre recalled the harrowing incident for which he was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in January 2021.
He revealed that the hospital wasn’t allowing any visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they allowed his family to see him because they didn’t think he would make it.
“I found out later they called them up so they could say their last goodbyes because they thought I was out of here,” said the 57-year-old producer.
He didn’t realize it was that serious until he saw his mother and sister visit him while he was in the ICU. “Nobody told me. I had no idea. That was crazy.”
He was awakened every hour on the hour for two weeks while he underwent tests to check his vitals. But he was never that concerned that his life was in danger.
“I never felt like I was in trouble,” he said. “I felt like, OK, I’m just going through procedure. I’m ready to go home.”
Dre ended up making a miraculous recovery and returned to the studio just weeks later and even went on to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show in February.
“I came out of it stronger,” he said.
His work ethic has only increased. During the pandemic, he recorded 247 songs, not including music for his upcoming joint album with Marsha Ambrosius, Casablanco.
Dre is looking forward to his upcoming projects, including the Marvin Gaye biopic What’s Going On, which he has been working on for the past 4-5 years. “I think this the next big thing for me,” he said. “That’s gonna go fu**ing nutso.”