Spliff Star, the US rapper, has revealed the severity of a life-threatening health crisis that forced him to step away from music for 15 years.
The artiste, born William A. Lewis, spoke on stage at the Detty December Fest in Lagos on Friday night.
Busta Rhymes, the iconic rapper and Spliff’s longtime collaborator, had prompted the explanation by asking why the pair had been absent from the industry for so long.
Spliff Star detailed a harrowing simultaneous battle with congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and cancer at the same time.
“I would make the long story short, I am going to let you know that I value you and I love you very much and I am very happy to be here tonight,” he told the audience.
‘I had heart failure, pneumonia and cancer and I beat them all’ — Busta Rhymes collaborator Spliff Star explains 15-year music break#dettydecfest pic.twitter.com/hAeKayLWUe
— CableLifestyle (@CableLifestyle) December 20, 2025
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“Let me tell you why, I had congestive heart failure, pneumonia, cancer at the d**n same time. I beat all of that s**t.
“So me being here tonight is God sent, he wanted me to be here tonight. He wanted me to be with you all, he wanted you all to be with me.”
Best known for his extensive work with Busta Rhymes and as a former member of the Flipmode Squad, Spliff had been largely out of the public eye since the late 2000s.
During that earlier period, he co-founded his own label PaperRock Records in 2007 and released his debut solo project in 2008.
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