In 2021 alone, more than 930,000 deaths in the United States were due to cardiovascular disease, which equates to one in every four deaths. At the top of this list are Black adults, who continue to be disproportionately affected, according to recent studies.
The good news, however, is that heart disease is highly preventable with the proper lifestyle adjustment.
Aware of this, The CDC Foundation launched the “Live to the Beat” campaign to provide culturally-relevant health education content surrounding cardiovascular health. In its second year, the campaign, which recently leverage the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, American Heart Month and Black History Month, shined a spotlight on the steps people can take to improve their heart health at a special event in Atlanta hosted by rapper and activist Killer Mike.
“CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention recognizes addressing cardiovascular disease among Black adults in the United States is urgent,” says Booker Daniels, health communication team lead, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at CDC. ‘Live to the Beat’ is an important consumer-focused effort that encourages people to take smalls steps to lower their risk for heart disease and stroke.”
Blackdoctor.org sat down with the rapper to discuss his own journey to better health after his doctor told him that he needed to make some lifestyle changes, why he joined the “Live to the Beat” campaign and the importance of the Black community taking charge of their own health.
BDO: What made you want to join the “Live to the Beat” campaign?
KM: I had to make some fundamental life changes in terms of eating differently, moving my body more and being more cognizant of my own health. We tour relentlessly (my rap group, Run the Jewels). We did 123 days in one year and I woke up twice in the hospital from dehydration and exhaustion. My doctor, whose a Black woman and an amazing doctor, said you’re beating yourself up and these are the things you need to do to self-correct to make sure that you don’t have problems in the future and that your body can actually hold up to function in a way that is going to allow you to keep the integrity of the performance that you have. As I’ve learned more, I’ve dropped some weight. I’ve dropped about 47 pounds. My goal is to drop another 50 this year. I monitor everything from my blood sugar levels to my blood pressure and lung capacity because as a kid, I grew up with asthma. So, I’m just learning how it all works. The better my body functioning works, the better my mind is functioning, the calmer my soul is, and the better my performance is as a musician. As you get older, you have to be more cognizant.
BDO: You just mentioned being on tour. In the past, you stated that being on tour led to an unhealthy lifestyle. How has your tour routine changed?
KM: When I’m touring, there are no more sodas backstage. I don’t do sugary drinks anymore at all. I drink either unsweetened tea with lemons or water with lemons. I try to lean heavily on proteins and grains. Proteins can be anything from chicken or an expensive cut beef to beans and a burrito, but I try to stay really close to the way my grandparents ate, which was food right out of the garden or fresh off of slaughter. My grandfather ate game meat, so I grew up eating meat that was wild. I order my meat now from farms or directly from people who I know, whether it’s beef or pork. Chicken- I still get sometimes from Whole Foods (stuff like chicken breasts or cutlets). I eat a lot more salads and a lot more green stuff, whether it’s turnips or collards or kale or salads. We used to fast for religious reasons when I was a kid, and then when I got older, I realized that it was actually kind of healthy. So one day a week I may just only do water, do my prayers and meditation. Two days of the week, I’ll fast for the first half of the day like we did when we were kids saying our prayers and meditating. There’s an old thing that, interesting enough, comes out of the old Black Muslim experience from the 60s where they would eat once a day and there are some days where I’ll literally just break my fast with one six o’clock meal. I try to eat more proteins and grains. If not, I fast for spiritual and physical reasons. I’m more cognizant of what I’m drinking, I don’t drink my calories anymore. I drink water.
RELATED: Combating Heart Disease in the Black Community
BDO: You just mentioned your grandparents and what it was like growing up. Knowledge of your family health history is important, especially in the Black community. Did you have any conversations with your family when you began making lifestyle changes?
KM: Everybody started doing it together. My youngest daughter joined the weightlifting class in high school. I think she’s going to wrestle. My son suffers from kidney disease, so we had already made some eating and lifestyle changes around his change. We’re about to start doing family meetups and walks once or twice a week so everybody will take their habit back with them. We use it as an excuse to be around each other more.
BDO: That’s great. Can you tell me a little bit more about the “Live to the Beat” campaign? I know you recently hosted an event in Atlanta.
KM: The “Live to the Beat” event was amazing because it put everybody from the spectrum together in one room. There were people who were there from their first exercise, yoga or move body class. There were people there who were buying or getting food from vendors who taught how to cook tasty foods that were extremely healthy for you. Grady Memorial Hospital, which is one of the number one stroke centers in the South East, was there teaching people to put an app on their phone that helps them keep monitoring these things. It put everything in one place for people to enjoy and I saw everything from senior citizens there with their grandchildren to new moms there with their babies to families that were mom, dad and kids together. I thought it was an absolutely amazing experience. I really enjoyed doing it. Also, Shanti Das, who is like a big sister to me, was my co-host. Shanti cares about mental health and that was something that she brought to the table too because a lot of times anxiety and depression can lead people to unhealthy eating habits or to eat to calm nerves and fears and things of that nature. That was an aspect that got addressed too. And Big Tigger is a hell of a DJ, he got people jamming and moving their bodies the entire four hours.
BDO: Outside of the campaign emphasizing the need for physical wellness, making lifestyle changes to prevent heart disease and addressing some of the stigmas in the Black community, how else do you think this movement is helping inspire a healthy lifestyle?
KM: Just showing people that they’re part of the community. I think that’s the most important part. A lot of times it gets to feeling lonely in terms of when you’re making lifestyle changes if everyone around you isn’t making any change at the same time, which is why I’m really glad that as a family we made these changes together and are continuing to learn and do more. But I think it shows that you’re part of a community and I think that’s the most beautiful and important part because my grandparents raised me so oftentimes we would go to the very deep, rural South. So if my grandma and great-grandmother had watermelons, everyone had watermelon. If my great-grandfather and grandfather went fishing, everyone ate fish. I say that to just say the lifestyle is something you share. Just like we share bad habits, we’re sharing good habits. So as a community of people, it feels good to know that when you hit the track, somebody is going to be walking out there with you and you get to connect with people who can give you new advice and knowledge on different things to do. I appreciate that sense of community. They say “If you want to go somewhere fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a group.”
BDO: Was there any specific approach from the “Live to the Beat” campaign that you applied to your own health journey?
KM: The app (Pulse Check) is dope. Apps make it easier when you’re able to all of a sudden look at your phone and see what I’m about to eat, how many calories I’m putting in my mouth, how many steps you take in a day, or how much resistance training you should do today. I think that that makes it a lot easier. The technology part was probably one of my favorite parts and I’m not usually a technology guy. I still like listening to music in my old school cars on CDs. But it really is cool to have, in your phone, a tool that helps you understand everything from the science of eating clean to how to live properly and what to exercise on a particular day.
BDO: Have you experienced any challenges? How do you choose to be healthy every day?
KM: Understanding that every day is a new day. There are going to be some days you get off course. Dairy Queen may win during the day and you eat an ice cream cone. Just make sure you don’t eat three ice cream cones and drink two Coca-Colas. Even if you say hey I’m having a good time, but the rest of the day I’m eating clean and I’m getting my butt up and getting to the gym in the morning. Shout out to Al Claiborne, Claiborne Fit FX, he’s helped me in my journey. He’s helped me understand that every day you get an opportunity to move your body, you get an opportunity to get stronger. It’s going to happen day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year. It’s not going to happen overnight, so I would tell people to give themselves some grace and be forgiving of themselves, but kick your own butt and make yourself get out of bed and move around.
RELATED: 6 Heart Disease Symptoms Black Women Should Look For
BDO: Going back to your doctor’s appointment for a bit. Were there any warning signs prior to your appointment?
KM: No. I move around a lot and she didn’t tell me by your diagnosis you’re on the road to heart disease. She just said you’re a big guy, you’re not eating well. So I did not get diagnosed with early heart disease or anything like that. What I was diagnosed with was ‘hey you have dehydration, you have exhaustion, you’re a big guy, you don’t sleep right, you’re a rock and roller, you’re sleeping on the bus. If you continue this, the other side of this is things like heart disease or cardiovascular disease or diabetes. But if you correct your course now, you can salvage a pretty good life for the next 30-40 years.’ And that’s what I’m in the process of doing.
BDO: You mentioned some of the progress you’ve made in losing weight and getting healthier with your family. Are there any other goals you have for your health journey?
KM: Just get stronger, build more muscle, and lose more fat. I’m 6’2. I got broad shoulders. I got all my hair still. I’m a handsome guy, so maybe I’ll get on the cover of Muscle and Fitness magazine in the next couple of years. That’s the goal.
BDO: Do you have any advice for people who may be suffering from heart disease?
KM: For the people suffering, just listen to what your doctor is saying, listen to what your nutritionist is saying and I wish you the best because the heart, like any other muscle, is capable of enduring a lot more than we think. Just do what they’re saying and keep a positive attitude and spirit. What I have to say to Black folks is let’s just pick a time of the evening and everybody come out of their house and take a walk together. Let’s get outside. Mark “Smelly” Bell and his brother Chris Bell are physical fitness guys. Mark was a powerlifter, who used to be over 300 pounds. Mark got on his fitness journey to cut weight in his training to run the marathon and he came down and gave me some tips. Mark is about figuring out how to keep tricking your body into doing the right thing. So he’s like Mike after you eat, do a 10-minute walk. And you think of it as ‘yeah, I can walk 10 minutes’, but in 10 minutes you’ve done a half mile to a mile. Your body required the energy from that meal. When you look at us as primal animals, essentially to eat, you used to have to hunt it or go forage for it or go fight it, now it’s kind of reversed. Now you’ll eat, but you need to move your body afterward so that your body is using the energy. Fat is just stored energy, so use the energy to make sure your body stays balanced. That’s what I’m in the habit of mastering now and I think that if we, as human beings, just do more of that, once we eat dinner and enjoy one another, we’ll walk together. Just give yourself that balance and give yourself grace. Every day you’re not going to be Miss Olympia, but if you manage to get in there for the first 10 minutes, you’ll stick around and your mind will get concentrated and you’ll do it.
BDO: What are you most proud of in your partnership with this campaign?
KM: I’m proud that it was right there on the West side of Atlanta, GA and I’m proud that I saw so many beautiful Black and brown faces in that building making sure that they’re taking care of themselves so they could be here with their loved ones for as long as possible.
BDO: Anything else you’d like to add?
KM: Just stay encouraged and encourage everyone around you. Hit that track in the morning, hit the weight room, encourage one another, be kind to yourself and forgiving of yourself and it’s a journey. We’re all on it together, we’re going to go far.
Ready to take the first steps to improve your health? Visit Live to the Beat for more information and healthy lifestyle tips.