Rapper Loses Leg to Diabetes, and Friends Rally to Support

When a famous rapper loses a leg to diabetes there is little to do but offer sympathy and give to the GoFundMe page set up for his treatment and follow up care. Today, as we listened to The Beet's Creative AdvisorJermaine Dupri being interviewed for HipHopDX, we learned that Andre "Doctor Dre" Brown, most known for having starred in the MTV show Yo! MTV Raps with Ed Lover in the late ’80s to mid-90s, had his leg amputated earlier this summer, the result of complications from diabetes.

Doctor Dre– not to be confused with the west coast producer, co-founder of Beats by Dre headphones and former member of NWA Dr. Dre–is credited as having "exposed Hip Hop to a whole new audience while introducing the genre into living rooms across the United States," according to a story in HipHopDX.

Doctor Dre made his mark in radio, television, movies and had worked as a DJ, composer, talent scout, program host, actor, critic, and author. But he is best known as co-host with Ed Lover of Yo! MTV Raps,"the TV show that did more than any other to make rap music and hip-hop culture global phenomena," according to ABCnews.com

From 1989 to 1995, Doctor Dré and Ed Lover were the co-hosts of  Yo! MTV Raps. Dré had already teamed up with Lover in the early 1990s to co-host a morning radio show as part of the re-launch of Hot 97 in New York City.

The pair starred in the 1993 film Who's the Man?, directed by Yo! MTV Raps co-creator and co-director Ted Demme. Dré and Ed Lover also recorded an album in 1994 titled Back up off Me!  Dré also served as a DJ for the Beastie Boys. He had his own clothing line called Bigga Stuff in the early 1990s. In 2003 Dré and Ed Lover participated in the Comedy Central Roast of their Who's the Man? co-star, comedian Denis Leary.

Dre also guest-starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the episode "Ill Will" as a figment of Will Smith's nightmare of bad doctors. He then appeared on an episode of The People's Court with Judge Marilyn Milian as a witness for a talent director suing former colleagues of his.

His GoFundMe page reads:

Friends,

All of us who lived through the Nineties and care about music know and love Andre "Doctor Dre" Brown.  He has made his mark on radio and television, in the movies and in print, working successively as a recording artist (as a founding member of Def Jam's Original Concept), hip-hop DJ (he was the Beastie Boys's DJ during the Raising Hell Tour in 1986) , composer, talent scout, on-air personality, actor, author, and critic. He's undoubtedly best-known as the co-host with Ed Lover of "Yo! MTV Raps" (1989-1995), the tv show that did more than any other to make rap music and hip-hop culture global phenomena.  After "Yo!", Dre and Ed duo funneled their chemistry into major market radio. They held down the morning show on New York's Hot 97 (1993-1998), then on L.A.'s The Beat (2000-2001), and finally on New York's Power 105 (2003-2006).  

Fans of Doctor Dre (whose real name is Andre Brown) is a big personality and well-loved in the Hip Hop community. He has suffered from type 2 diabetes for years, and when diabetes gets advanced it can cut off circulation to the capillaries that supply oxygen to the toes, eyes and other areas of the body that when damaged can not heal properly. One way to prevent and even reverse symptoms of type 2 diabetes is a plant-based diet, which lowers inflammation and helps keep blood sugar under control.

Even as recently as 10 months ago, he was trying to turn things around. Brown explained that he’s not completely blind, and has undergone retina reattachment surgery. The resulting scar tissue causes his vision to fluctuate. As a result, he’s currently more focused on higher factors.

“I’m learning it’s better what you put in your mouth to help treat the situation,” Brown said. “But I’ve learned to say I believe in a higher spirit, and he speaks to me all the time.”

Now he is also mostly blind due to complications stemming from his condition. Back in 2016 when he was awaiting weight loss surgery to help him treat his condition, Doctor Dre told The New York Times: 

“My stubbornness put me where I’m at. Now my energy is going to change that. We got young people, grown people, old, all having this. We can prevent this. We can cure this. I have an idea of how to do it.”

Diet and lifestyle changes can help reverse and reduce symptoms of diabetes, as Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President, found out when he started to experience declining vision. He was overweight and in poor health until he switched to a vegan diet, lost 35 pounds and got healthier. He's recently written a book about his transformation, due out this fall, called Healthy at Last: A Plant-Based Approach to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes and Other Chronic Illnesses.

A new study just published this month found that a plant-based diet controls blood sugar and helps your body naturally metabolize carbs and fat, to help avoid diabetes. And another review study of diets showed that you reap the benefits of eating more plants when avoiding diabetes is the goal. This study found that the more plants, the better.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Doctor Dre and his family. To contribute to his GoFundMe Page click here.