3/18- Monday, 9:30 Am EST
As Lil Wayne laid in a hospital bed in the ICU of Cedars-Sinai hospital in West Hollywood, reporters and spectators gathered outside awaiting details and exchanging unconfirmed reports. Based on rumored information provided by sites like TMZ and through subsequent tweets, Lil Wayne’s fans quickly came to believe that his health was in grave decline due to an alleged overdose of a drink he popularized throughout his career called “Sizzurp.”
3/15- Friday, 7:30 PM EST
Friday evening, TMZ unleashed a report that the beloved rapper was on his deathbed, had been given “his last rites,” and officials were awaiting the arrival of his mother–who was en route to his location. Only she holds the power to make the final decisions with his health–which was ominously added to TMZ’s original report–leaving readers completely overwhelmed with the idea that Wayne, also known as Weezy, might be taken off life-support.
MUST READ: *UPDATE* Lil Wayne ‘Stabilizing’ After Suffering Multiple Seizures
Reports have stated that a mixture of the prescription drugs, promethazine and codeine are listed as contributors to his unknown condition. These are the ingredients commonly found in “Sizzurp” which Wayne is notoriously known for consuming. Promethazine and codeine are found in cough syrup. Though “Sizzurp” is made in a variety ways, most say it’s a form of cough syrup sometimes mixed with soda or hard candy.
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Wayne has openly discussed his struggle with the addiction to the concoction in his music. The lyrics to his song “Me And My Drank” are play like a diary: “You don’t know how to treat her/ You don’t know that I need her hey/do you know that I need ya/Cuz baby right now/It feels like the whole world is against me ever since the death of Pimp C.” In a 2008 MTV News documentary, Wayne said listening to Pimp C, half of the legendary southern hip-hop duo UGK, who died of an overdoes of “sizzurp” in 2007, influenced him to try the drink. “Everybody wants me to stop all this and all that. It ain’t that easy…S**t feels like death in your stomach when you stop,’’ he continued.
3/13- Tuesday, 1:30 PM EST
Wayne was first rushed to the L.A. hospital, Tuesday night, after suffering from several seizures. His stay was short, as he was released on Wednesday but returned that night after allegedly being found, unconscious, by his security guard, on the floor of his hotel. Sources say Wayne went on a “Sizzurp” binge after he was discharged. This is his third time being treated for seizures.
On Friday night, news that Wayne was in critical condition hit the Internet. Colleagues of the multi-platinum rapper quickly grabbed their fire extinguisher and combated the original report found on TMZ that said:
“He was taken to ICU, where he was placed in restraints because he was shaking uncontrollably. We’re told Wayne is currently “unstable,” and has been placed in an induced coma. He is breathing through tubes.” Sources say, friends were weeping by his bedside.
3/15- Friday, 9:00 PM EST
YMCMB President Mack Maine, took to Twitter to dispel rumors, saying “Wayne is alive and well! We watching the Syracuse game…thanks for the prayers and concern..he will update you all soon. #love.” Birdman, Cash Money co-Founder, then tweeted “My son is in good spirit..feelin much betta…be home soon.YMCMB.” Wayne’s camp’s account of what was happening didn’t match reports from TMZ, who seemed to be foreshadowing a grave outcome. Mack Maine claimed Wayne would be tweeting, soon, to reassure the Twitterverse that he was indeed fine, and that the reports circulating the net were false. A few minutes later a status from Wayne’s @Tunechi account began to be retweeted as a sign of good faith. But, it fell flat when watchful eyes noticed the tweet was sent from a different IP address, than the location of Cedars-Sinai.
TMZ has a long and strong history of breaking stories. They were the first to report Michael Jackson’s death, when no one–not even CNN, would touch the story. TMZ was the first to announce that Whitney Houston had died. And, if you don’t remember, they were the primary outlet responsible for breaking the Chris Brown, Rihanna domestic violence debacle. Say what you want–when TMZ posts a story–people believe it.
3/15- Friday, 9:28 EST
To make matters worse after Wayne tweeted “I’m good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love,” TMZ updated their initial story with this: “Wayne is sleeping right now … which is odd, because he just tweeted saying he’s OK and thanking people for the prayers and love.” The jab was alarming. Who was telling the truth? And was Lil Wayne closer to the heavens than his people wanted us to know?
Mack Maine tweeted “F**K TMZ.” Rapper T.I. jumped in on the charade and assisted in pulling a red herring. A photo of Drake walking into the hospital surfaced (and it was an indicator of how deeply infiltrated TMZ was onsite). Nicki Minaj, Birdman and NBA Chris Paul also visited him.
3/18- Monday, 9:30 AM EST
As of late, Wayne is said to be “stabilizing.” A report today listed the rebellious boss in intensive care. The section about Wayne being read his “last rites” has since been removed by TMZ, leaving folks expecting, at least, an apology or mention of irresponsible reporting. Which leads us to question, if they made a mistake in the first place, and if so, why haven’t they addressed the mistake like they have before? They issued an apology earlier this year to Janet Jackson for falsely reporting on an altercation between she and her niece, Paris.
The bigger story for the media and the millions of Lil Wayne fans worldwide is the concern for the young rappers health.
“The important thing here is, whatever happened to Wayne, I hope he’s okay. If it’s drugs involved here and he needs some help, I want him to get it. I don’t want to lose Wayne,” Michael Skolnik, editor-in-chief of GlobalGrind told Radio.com.
That’s what we’re feeling. Despite his raunchy and sometimes misogynistic lyrics, Wayne is a father, a boyfriend, a son and a role model. We don’t want to see another one of our black boys dead! We’re praying for Wayne.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on this story. To learn more about the effects of “sizzurp”, read more here.
MUST READ: Lil Wayne Is Hospitalized Again After Suffering Multiple Seizures
MUST READ: Lil Wayne Hospitalized After Suffering Seizure-Like Symptoms On Private Jet
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