As a hip hop veteran, Masta Ace certainly knows a thing or two about battling on the mic; however, these days, the Brooklyn-born MC takes on a different opponent: multiple sclerosis.
READ: Tamia: Life After Multiple Sclerosis
Masta Ace was diagnosed with the central nervous system disease in late 2000 but kept the news under wraps; for him, it was all about not being defeated. “I didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for me. I didn’t want the pity,” he has said.
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According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the disease affects over 2 million people worldwide, with research showing that African Americans, particularly African-American women, are among the highest at risk for developing it.
BlackDoctor.org spoke with Masta Ace about living with the disease, how it gave him new creative energy and how it gave him a different approach to his health and overall lifestyle.
BlackDoctor.org: You were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis some time ago but it was only recently that you decided to publicly reveal it. Why has it now become time to share your story?
Masta Ace: After a while, I reached a point where it didn’t need to be a secret anymore. The reason I held back on sharing it with people is because I wanted to know that any acceptance I received professionally was going to be genuine and real and not based on the diagnosis or pity or somebody feeling bad for me. I wanted to know that any love I got from fans and people in the industry was genuine. Once I felt I had established genuine acceptance from people around me, I felt there was no reason to hide it anymore.
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BlackDoctor.org: You’ve stated that pre-diagnosis, you experienced symptoms including a “pins and needles” feeling all over your body. Given this, what were your initial thoughts?
Masta Ace: Initially, I thought I had a pinched nerve or something like that. I was trying to do a self-diagnosis. I just didn’t think it was anything as serious as what it turned out to be.
BlackDoctor.org: As you know, there is a long-standing notion that men, especially Black men, are stubborn about going to the doctor. Was this applicable to you? Were you that dude?
Masta Ace: I was definitely that dude especially because I was uninsured and when you’re uninsured, the mentality is, “Well, unless I really need a doctor, I’m not going.” It was hesitation on that side of it and that’s always a bad thing because there actually is help out there. Once I realized that was the wrong approach and the wrong mentality, I did what I had to do. I changed my mentality about going to the doctor and taking care of myself.
READ: Foods To Avoid With Multiple Sclerosis
BlackDoctor.org: How would you rate your health prior to the diagnosis?
Masta Ace: As far as I was concerned, my health was pretty good. I had put on a few pounds—my weight had gone up to where I was approaching 200 pounds. I had never been that heavy. Generally speaking, I felt I was relatively healthy and living a pretty normal life.
BlackDoctor.org: Over the past few years, the hip hop community has suffered tremendous loss with the passing of Heavy D (pulmonary embolism) and Guru (cancer), and of course, more recently, the diabetes-related deaths of Phife and Prince Be. Did their deaths affect you in any way?
Masta Ace: Hearing those stories and knowing what happened with those artists just reinforced my commitment to being healthy, eating right, taking care of myself and watching what I put in my body, especially at my age. It played a huge part in me realizing I was doing the right thing.
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BlackDoctor.org: Richard Pryor is undoubtedly one of the most famous people stricken with multiple sclerosis, and presently, R&B singer Tamia and TV's Montel Williams have both spoken publicly about living with the disease. Did you ever refer to their stories or perhaps reach out to any of them?
Masta Ace: I never reached out to any of them but those are the exact names that came to mind when I got the diagnosis. But with Richard Pryor, he had a lot of difficulty and some of it probably had to do with his drug abuse. That’s probably why he was struggling more than most. I definitely did consider those celebrities though, and I just wondered how about their situation. I took a glance every now and then to see how they were doing.
BlackDoctor.org: When you were first diagnosed, you’ve said that music and career-wise, you reached an impasse but shortly after, your energy and passion were refueled and you resumed recording. What turned things around?
Masta Ace: I think the realization that it was possible that my quality of life was going to change over time and since there were things I thought were unfulfilled musically, I felt like it was “now or never.” You just don’t know what the future’s going to hold or how your system or the disease is going to progress, so at that point, it made me rededicate myself to my craft. It made me want to put out the best music I possibly could at that time.
BlackDoctor.org: And you’ve kept things going with the recent release of “The Falling Season.” Tell us about this album.
Masta Ace: As a writer, I’ve become a lot more introspective and something as dramatic as this kind of a diagnosis can make you become more introspective. This new album is about me growing up in Brooklyn and I give listeners insight into my four years of high school and what was going on in my neighborhood, my school and my life at that time.
BlackDoctor.org: How do you want others living with the disease to be inspired by your journey?
Masta Ace: I hope that others living with the disease realize that although you may not be in total control of what happened, you do have control over how you conduct your life going forward. I try to live a very healthy lifestyle; I realize that I’m not 20 years old anymore, so hanging out late and drinking and doing all those things I did when I was younger don’t fit who I am anymore. I spend quite a bit of time working out at home and when I’m on the road, and I have dramatically changed the way I eat. [My new lifestyle] has paid dividends in the way I feel, how active I am, and how I’m able to work out without feeling tired which is a challenge for anybody my age, even without a disease! I just try to live a much healthier lifestyle and I encourage people to do the same. I want others to just take control of their life, their health and their well-being.
LaShawn Williams is a freelance writer and editor from Chicago, Illinois. She is an arts and entertainment enthusiast who has a serious thing for stand-up comedy, music and dance. Follow her on Twitter:@MsWilliamsWorld.
