During one of the final interviews with former Death Row Records artist Jewell before her death on May 6, she revealed that a doctor had recently given her only six months to live. While she didn't clarify why she was given the prognosis, she admitted to suffering from a “lung injury illness.”
“The doctor gave me six months to live,” she explained interview with The Art of Dialogue’s Mighty Bolton that was recorded in October 2021. “[…] That’s why I hurried up my album. I wanted to do something more positive than all the dick-sucking records, pretty much what was popular back in those days, so my grandkids can have something that they’re proud of, of their nana Jewell.”
She added that the footage would be “iconic” because she knew “it’s not gonna be long” before she passed.
Jewell ended up passing away on May 6 at the age of 54. She was best-known for her work on tracks such as "Gonna Give It to Ya," "Woman to Woman," and "It's Not Deep Enough."
Elsewhere in the interview, she discussed being medically dead at Walmart and needing to be resuscitated.
“I beat the odds ’cause 2019 was my first diagnosis and I have all the paperwork to substantiate the longevity of my life,” she said. “I died at Walmart and they brought me back to life. The guy that saved my life used to be an EMT in Puerto Rico and his name was Javier. He was the one that actually pumped me until the ambulance got there when I stopped breathing at the register and saved my life. I held this from most of my family because I always tried to be the strong one […] I just didn’t want them to know.”
Despite the interview being filmed back in 2021, for the release of her final album, Love + Pain = Musik, it was released only now because Jewell told Bolton to hold off on publishing it until her death.
"Jewell told me to hold on to footage and release it if she passed away," he revealed to HipHopDX. "She wanted people to know about her contribution to Hip Hop and realize all the legendary songs she contributed to and sang vocals on. I hope in her passing, people go back and look at her interviews and learn how big of a contribution she made to Hip Hop, especially West Coast Hip Hop.”
[Via]