Rapper Busta Rhymes says an 'asthma attack' he experienced after having sex inspired him to lose 100 pounds: 'I was forcing myself to inhale'

• Busta Rhymes recalled the moment he knew he needed to lose some weight.
• He told Men's Health the revelation came when he had an "asthma attack" after having sex.

Busta Rhymes has revealed that an "asthma attack"-like experience after having sex inspired him to lose weight.

The "Touch It" rapper weighed roughly 340 pounds at his heaviest in 2019.

In an interview with Men's Health published Wednesday, Busta said he began to pile on the pounds after the loss of his father in 2014.

"I drowned myself in work," he said. "I just kept drinking, smoking, eating bad—the whole nasty — and recording a bunch of songs just to escape the pain."

The rapper's poor health led to him developing polyps on his vocal cords, which affected his breathing.

"One night I was getting ready to have, make, you know... I was getting ready to have an intimate moment with my ex. I had a breathing issue after the intimate interaction," Busta recalled.

"I was having a really difficult time breathing, so I got up and I walked out of the bedroom so she wouldn't panic seeing me trying to keep myself calm," he continued. "I was trying to inhale, and it felt like it wasn't working. I felt like I was having like 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."

The 51-year-old rapper described the moment as a "mind fuck" and said it had both him and his now ex-wife worried.

"When I came back in the room once I got right, I laid back down next to her and she said something to me that really fucked me up," he recalled. "She was like, 'Yo, this is not who I fell in love with.' 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.'"

Busta said he has since lost 100 pounds.

Now preparing to go on tour with 50 Cent, he told Men's Health he's working out twice a day.

"I'm trying to lean out, chisel that six-pack up, build the pecs, cap the shoulders, get the traps, triceps — you know, get your waist small, stomach flat, get your back muscle so you can take the T-shirt off on the stage," he said.

"I'm gonna be on stage with 50 and don't want to be weak link," he added.