This is what I pondered when I saw Phife Dawg and the other members of A Tribe Called Quest on the VH1 Hip Hop Honors which aired last month. Known as "The Funky Diabetic," I was concerned about Phife since he appeared so small and a bit frail looking.
Apparently, Phife has been battling with kidney complications stemming from his Type 1 Diabetes and has been receiving dialysis for the past few years. Although many tend to think of Diabetes as just a problem with blood sugar, as the disease progresses, diabetes begins to wreck havoc of a person's microcirculation, which can lead to blindness, gangrene of extremities, strokes, and also kidney complications as well as a host of other problems.
Hoping that the music world was not going to have another J Dilla situation (who died from Lupus-related complications last year) on our hands, I became very concerned. Phife has been doing better recently, but my prayers are still with him since Diabetes (especially Type 2 AKA Adult-Onset) is one of the fastest rising illnesses among youth of all ethnic backgrounds.
Why?
It is due mostly to the sedentary lifestyle (videogames, DVDs) and greater availability of processed foods available to our kids these days compared to when we were growing up. To school yourself more about this topic, you can click here. In the mean time, let's hope that Phife's struggle with this disease improves.
-Dr. Walker AKA Ill Mami
Phife Dawg Speaks on personal Struggle with Diabetes and VH1 Hip Hop Honors [AHH]
