Photo: Scott Dudelson/Getty
Bushwick Bill — the rapper and co-founder of the legendary Houston, Texas, group Geto Boys — died on Sunday, two months after going public with his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was 52.
Back in May, Bushwick Billopened up to TMZ about his health battle, explaining that he’d been undergoing intensive chemotherapy to treat it but that his prognosis was unclear.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in February. The discovery came as a surprise, not just to fans but to Bushwick Bill himself. As he explained, doctors had been looking into a mass on his pancreas but told him it was benign.
Bushwick Bill went on to explain that he had been staying quiet about his diagnosis — not even telling fellow Geto Boys founders Scarface and Willie D — but decided to open up about it because “keeping it to myself is not really helping anybody.”
Since that interview, Bushwick Bill had been sharing updates on Instagram about his health from the hospital, where he was admitted on May 24.
Chemotherapy had left him with walking pneumonia, an infection in his lung and a possible infection in his blood, he told his fans in one update.
He was hoping to get back on stage before his death, even planning a “F— Cancer Tour” to launch on June 8 in Dallas.
Prior to dying, Bushwick Bill said he didn’t fear death — noting how, on June 19, 1991, he was shot in the head and survived it (an experience he rapped about in the song, “Ever So Clear”).
“It’s not like I’m afraid of dying,” he told TMZ. “I know what it’s like on the other side.”
“That’s not what it’s really about. It’s about life and loving life,” he said. “I just want people to be aware so that when they set dreams or goals, they’re healthy enough to fulfill and live.”
source: people.com
