The tragic death of Nipsey Hussle inspired fellow rapper Busta Rhymes to start taking his health more seriously and embark on a mission to lose his “pregnant” belly.
The Hip-Hop veteran recently showed off his body transformation with before and after photos on Instagram, sharing a snap of his newly-toned stomach after previously sporting a bulging gut.
He offered up words of encouragement to others needing a little morale boost, and now Busta reveals that while the coronavirus shutdown gave him the extra time to really focus on his fitness, it was the 2019 murder of 33-year-old Hussle which sparked his decision to embark on a new health kick.
“I said, ‘If this is not the sign to get yourself together, I don’t know what else will be,'” Busta, 48, told the New York Post. “And at that point I made my decision to get my life together, and I immediately got into this transformation journey.”
The father-of-six, who reveals he had also been recovering from an operation to treat throat polyps, also wanted to get in shape for the sake of his family.
“When you really sit back and you think about it, it’s selfish…,” Busta said of his prior weight gain. “Why are you putting yourself in a situation when you can actually collapse and die, and you got all of these people that love you that you’re responsible for? It was unfair to them – and unfair to myself.”
The What’s It Gonna Be?! hitmaker turned to his personal trainers for help, while he also credits healthy eating program Weight Watchers and his Peloton exercise bike for his slim down.
“I was 340 pounds – and it was challenging as hell to come to terms with that,” he confessed. “But I currently weigh 254 pounds, so I’m almost down 100 pounds.
“I had the stomach that looked like I was nine months pregnant, and then I had the stomach with the six-pack.”
After seeing the response to his lifestyle overhaul, Busta wants to use his experience to motivate others to get into shape.
“It’s been a blessing to be able to see this through and be able to share it with people and inspire people,” he said, “because that’s the goal at the end of the day for me.”