Miami rapper Trick Daddy, born Maurice Young, has just announced that he suffers from the chronic, autoimmune disease lupus.Trick, who is best known for hits like 'Shut Up' and 'Let's Go,' revealed the upsetting news when he appeared on 'The Rickey Smiley Morning Show' last week to promote the release of his forthcoming autobiography, 'Magic City: Trials of a Native Son.'
"I went to the doctor like 12 years ago," Trick said. "She took all kinds of tests, because I was trying to get rid of what we call dry skin. She did biopsies and blood tests and swab tests. She told me I have lupus...I am allergic highly to the sun, that's my worst enemy. It's like an AK-47 with a double clip on it. I could jeopardize kidney and liver failure from the treatment and the medication."
Lupus causes the immune system to attack the body's own organs and tissues instead of bacteria or viruses. There is no known cause for the disease, which is most common among women, and affects African Americans more often than Caucasians. The symptoms worsen after exposure to sunlight and certain kinds of medication. The disease most recently took the life of celebrated producer James "J Dilla" Yancey.
Though Lupus is deadly, Trick has managed to stay positive, having managed his illness quietly for the past 12 years.
"Remember I came out with the bald head recently? A lot of people joke about it, but I came from so far in the struggle where it don't matter to me," Trick explained. "I learned how to turn my down sides into jokes and get around it. My Mama had eleven children from ten different men. If she was strong enough to live with that, I can live with this."
Trick also announced that he has a graphic novel and an upcoming movie role, which is set to begin shooting shortly. "They got me in a movie with a lot of gangsters from 'The Wire' and the big black films. I can be me. I can be a G on it."
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Patrick Swayze, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, has been responding well to new treatments, despite tabloid reports to the contrary.
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Mariska Hargitay suffered a collapsed lung in January, and has now been hospitalized for the third time since December after suffering chest pains.
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Ed McMahon has been in the hospital for almost a month with pneumonia. The 85-year old is reportedly in "serious" condition.
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