• Busta  Rhymes is one of the most respected and critically-acclaimed rappers of all-time, collaborating with artists like Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest.
• Busta Rhymes revealed that he wanted to undergo a weight loss journey after his weight reached 340 pounds.
• Busta said that a near-death experience, involving his son, led him to decide to shed the weight.

Busta Rhymes is one of the most influential rappers of the 90s. Born Trevor George Smith in Brooklyn, Busta got his start rapping in Long Island, but he quickly rose to prominence as one of the great lyricists of New York rap in the 90s. From his collaborations with The Notorious B.I.G. and A Tribe Called Quest to his solo hits like “Break Ya Neck” and “It’s A Party,” Busta, 51, has long been one of the most celebrated figures in hip hop.

After setting out on a weight loss journey in 2019, Busta revealed that he’s shed 100 pounds and has gone through at least three body transformations in a new interview with Men’s Health, published on Tuesday, August 1. Find out everything you need to know about Busta here.

Busta Rhymes Before His Weight Loss Journey

Busta began his rap career in Long Island in the 1980s. He formed the influential group, the Leaders Of The New School with two other local rappers, who got their break opening for veterans Public Enemy. After the group appeared on a posse track alongside A Tribe Called Quest, they broke up on the set of Yo! MTV Raps, and Busta set out on a solo career, making appearances alongside other rappers throughout the 90s.

In 1996, Busta dropped his debut album The Coming, and he’s been considered one of the best ever since. Since then, he’s released 10 full-length albums, dropped countless features, and performed a wide array of hit songs. He’s also made many acting appearances (often playing himself) on TV shows and movies.

While Busta’s weight has fluctuated throughout his career (with him having had six-pack abs at various points), he did reveal that he’d topped out at about 340 pounds in 2019 in his new Men’s Health interview. He revealed that the death of his father in 2014 and fear of undergoing surgery to remove polyps on his vocal cords led to him gaining weight. “I drowned myself in work. I just kept drinking, smoking, eating bad—the whole nasty—and recording a bunch of songs just to escape the pain,” he told the magazine.

Busta Rhymes After His Weight Loss Journey

Since setting out to lose weight, Busta has been dedicated to a new workout routine that he began during the 2020 pandemic. He was dedicated to working with celebrity trainer Victor Munoz throughout the quarantine, according to TMZ. 

After undergoing his weight loss journey, Busta revealed that he’d dropped 100 pounds in his Men’s Health interview. “I’ve actually transformed my body three times,” he revealed. Earlier in the piece, he admitted that when he was a kid, he wanted to be “action-figure looking.” While he’s lost weight, he admitted that he wanted to tone up some things ahead of a big tour with 50 Cent. “I’m trying to lean out, chisel that six-pack up, build the pecs, cap the shoulders, get the traps, triceps—you know, get your waist small, stomach flat, get your back muscle so you can take the T-shirt off on the stage,” he said, admitting he didn’t want to be a “weak link” on the tour. “The most important thing in life is self preservation.”

Throughout his process, he’s occasionally shared before and after photos on his social media, per People. He looks much slimmer and has even shown that he developed a six-pack after undergoing a new workout routine and diet. “I was raised to protect and provide for my family and my people. I don’t know how to be any other way. I have to contribute in any way I can, even if that means engaging in physicality to ensure survival,” he told Men’s Health in 2021. At the time, he revealed that he’d dropped down to 254 pounds.