KEY POINTS

  • Dr. Dre suffered from a brain aneurysm last year
  • Doctors almost pronounced him dead
  • Dr. Dre has been taking care of himself since his near-death experience

Dr. Dre opened up about the severity of his illness when he was hospitalized for a brain aneurysm in 2021. During an appearance on the "Workout the Doubt" podcast earlier this month, the "Xxplosive" hitmaker shared details from his stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where he was reportedly taken to the intensive care unit via an ambulance.

The 57-year-old music producer, as per PEOPLE, shared with podcast host Dolvett Quince that he was banned from receiving any visitors since the incident occurred during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"But they allowed my family to come in. I found out later, they called them up, so they could say their last goodbyes because [doctors] thought I was out of here," Dr. Dre explained. "I didn't know it was that serious, you know? I am seeing my mom, my sister, and everybody come into the room. Nobody told me. I had no idea. That was crazy."

"Because of what was going on in my brain, they had to wake me up every hour on the hour for two weeks to do these tests... basically sobriety tests, like touch your nose, rub your heel on your calf and all that," the "Still D.R.E." singer continued. "As soon as they leave, I would try to go to sleep because I knew they would be coming back in the next hour."

Interestingly, Dr. Dre divulged that he "never felt" like he was in trouble despite everything that was going on at the time. "I felt like, 'Okay, I am just going through [the] procedure. I am ready to go home. I am hungry,' I didn't eat for two weeks. That was a really crazy experience," he said.

Soon after his hospitalization, Dr. Dre shared an update about his health with his Instagram followers. The American rapper said he was "doing great and getting excellent care."

For starters, Dr. Dre used to be part of the rap group called N.W.A and left in 1991 to focus on a solo career. He then transitioned to become one of hip hop's greatest producers, working with other famous artists like Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, The Game and Tupac Shakur, among many others.

dr dre
Dr. Dre attends the premiere of 'Straight Outta Compton' at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Aug. 10, 2015. Jason Kempin/Getty Images