Last night, Playboi Carti took to Twitter to share some troubling news. The rapper has been diagnosed with the "worst case" of asthma; unfortunately, that is the extent of his specificity. Still, from the sound of it, Carti's respatory condition is far from ideal.
"Breathing is so difficult for meh @ da moment! Literally scared to fall asleep on my back," writes Carti, in an alarming Tweet. i have da worst case of asthma. N never knew til today . to all my fans who suffer from asthma! I’m with u n #we as a whole must stay strong." It's sad to hear that his condition has gotten so bad the mere act of sleeping has become a potentially dangerous hurdle. Regardless of how you feel about his music, perhaps it's time to send some positive vibes in Carti's direction; after all, it wasn't long ago that everyone and their grandmother was bumping "Magnolia."
Playboi Carti is not alone in his struggle. Rappers Tyler, The Creator and Vince Staples have also struggled with asthma, citing harsh live environments as aggregators. It doesn't help that lyrically inclined rappers are known to push their voice to the limits, with breath control being one of hip-hop's underappreciated disciplines. While Carti is hardly a lyricist, one can only imagine the difficulties in taking the stage as an asthmatic. We can only hope that he's able to persevere, and work out a method of performance suited to his health.