During the late 1980's and early 1990's Yo! MTV Raps was a show that then, a mostly white TV station, brought hip-hop to the mainstream suburban audience. Its host, Ed Lover, Dr. Dre (not to be confused with the rapper/mogul) and Fab 5 Freddy would interview the hottest hip hop stars every week in their studio. It captipulted hip-hop to crossover audiences all over the world.
But since then, former Yo! MTV Raps co-host Doctor Dre, real name Andre Brown, has gone blind and lost a toe since he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over a decade ago. In an interview with the New York Times, Dre explained how he didn’t take his health seriously even after his diagnosis in the early 2000s.
But Dre has been blind for nearly 10 years.
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"There are times I have what they call 'flashes of vision'...," explains Dre. "There are times where I can see you in full color, but then it fades away... I am officially blind. I am visually impaired, but does that make me any less than a person?"
“My stubbornness put me where I’m at. Now my energy is going to change that,” Doctor Dre, who will be turning 60 this year, told the New York Times. “We got young people, grown people, old, all having this. We can prevent this. We can cure this. I have an idea how to do it.”
How Did This Happen?
According to the CDC, eye diseases that can affect people with diabetes include diabetic retinopathy, macular edema (which usually develops along with diabetic retinopathy), cataracts, and glaucoma. All can lead to vision loss, but early diagnosis and treatment can go a long way toward protecting your eyesight.
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Diabetic Retinopathy
This common eye disease is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults. Diabetic retinopathy is caused when high blood sugar damages blood vessels in the retina (a light-sensitive layer of cells in the back of the eye). Damaged blood vessels can swell and leak, causing blurry vision or stopping blood flow. Sometimes new blood vessels grow, but they aren’t normal and can cause further vision problems. Diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.
Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy
- Anyone with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant) can develop diabetic retinopathy. The longer you have diabetes, the more likely you are to develop it. These factors can also increase your risk:
- Blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels that are too high.
Smoking. - Race/ethnicity: African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and American Indians/Alaska Natives are at higher risk.
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The news of Dre's blindness came only a couple of months after A Tribe Called Quest rapper, Phife Dawg, passed away at the age of 45 due to complications from diabetes. Before that, Peter Dougherty, the co-creator of Yo! MTV Raps suffered from a fatal heart attack. He was 59 at the time of his death.
Dre's longtime friend and former co-host Ed Lover now hosts a...
...syndicated morning radio show with hip-hop legend Monie Love.
As the hip-hop community grows older, we hope that many will embrace a healthier lifestyle earlier in their career. Plantinum rappers, Styles P and Jadakiss opened up a string of juice bars known as Juices 4 Life to give fresh options in neighborhoods that don't readily have them.
Rapper Bun-B also is doing something healthy as he created a health day after his friend and former collaborator in UGK, Pimp-C died. Ice-T and Big Daddy Kane are on similar paths by doing shows and speaking out about the importance of health.
"If you think Yo! MTV Raps was something, you haven't seen nothing yet," explains Dre in a DJ Vlad interview. "So when you talk about my health, my wellness, and my ability to "do", I'm stronger now than I've ever been before. I'm more able than dis-abled. Blindness? It's just a hurdle."
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