Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Birdman, and Mannie Fresh.

If you’re a fan of hip-hop, or maybe just a hater of rapper Lil Wayne, chances are you heard all about him being hospitalized a week or so back after suffering a seizure or two. And, in classic hip-hop-hype fashion, rumorville went crazy with stories ranging from Wayne was in the ICU, on his death bed and ready to meet his maker, to he was doing just fine in his hospital bed watching the Syracuse game. Up until this past Friday only one thing was for sure, Wayne was in the hospital for a bit and he didn’t die.

The speculation as to what caused Wayne to have the seizures that eventually landed him in the hospital were a whole other source of gossip. Was it weed? The molly? Nah, had to be the sizzurp he was drinking. No, no, he’s just “working too hard”, that’s gotta be it. But, on Los Angeles radio station Power 106, the rapper did his part to address rumors, attributing the seizures to his epilepsy:

“Like, this isn’t my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh seizure. I’ve had a bunch of seizures, y’all just never hear about them. But this time it got real bad ‘cause I had three of them in a row and on the third one, my heart rate went down to like 30 percent*. Basically, I could’ve died, so that is why it was so serious. But the reason being for the seizures is just plain stress, no rest, overworking myself.”

Ah, if it were all only that simple, Lil Weezy. But, we know that’s why y’all are here, so lets jump in and make some sense of this mess!

THE BASICS: We think it may be helpful to understand what exactly a seizure is before we dive too deep. So, try thinking of the brain as your personal computer, or laptop. In your computer are a bunch of wires with electricity flowing through them. And, believe it or not, in your brain you have electricity flowing as well (literally), but in your brain the “wires” are known as neurons.

Now, you may have noticed that every once in a while when you try to do too much on your computer (for example when you have too many programs opened at once, plus you’re trying to download some file at the same time), your computer will “spaz out”. Sometimes the screen will freeze up for a minute, other times your mouse won’t work for a few seconds, and sometimes it’ll just shut down and reboot! It all depends on where the “hiccup” took place in your computer, and if it can figure out the problem.

Well, our brains are very similar to the computer in a lot of ways. There is a constant flow of electricity firing through the neurons in our brains, even when you’re not “using it” (i.e while sleeping)… which is more often the case for some people than others. Just like your computer, your mind gets revved up when you’re using your brain to do more complex activities, for example when you’re stressed out and have a ton of thoughts racing through your mind, or when you simply get excited and are feeling great. All those feelings cause all sorts of different parts of your brain to fire off electrical signals, but how well our brains handle those huge waves of electrical signals varies from person to person.

Ever notice how some people get excited and instantaneously start to cry? Some people get lightheaded when they’re upset and need to sit down. Others may get headaches if they’re watching a movie with too many explosion scenes. And, some people have seizures if they watch a movie with too many flashing lights. In most cases it all has to do with how the person’s brain processes the information and signals it is taking in, and whether their brain is able to not be overwhelmed by it all. The brains “ability to not be overwhelmed” is what brings us to the main point of this discussion: Seizure Threshold.

SEIZURE THRESHOLD:For the most part, our brains are wired the same way. But, much like our computer analogy, we know that despite looking the same, computers differ in what they can do. The brain is similar in this respect. Our brains are constantly processing information and that information “travels” from place to place in our brain, in the form electricity. The more excitement, information or emotions racing through your brain, the more electricity it calls for.

Taking a look at our diagram below, you’ll see the gray area labeled “brain activity”, this just represents the “work” you brain is doing. The blue line represents the level of “brain work” most people would have to reach before they tipped their brain past its breaking point (i.e. their “seizure threshold”) and suffered a seizure. The redline is the threshold of a person who is already prone to having seizures. If you already have epilepsy (like Weezy does), the level of “brain work” that it takes to reach your breaking point is already pretty low. Now, if you take a look at the purple line, you’ll see that the threshold drops even lower for people using/abusing certain substances (which we’ll talk about next), making it “easier” for them to have seizures.

BREAK ON THROUGH: Each and every one of us has a seizure threshold, but there are two things to keep in mind about them:

1. We do not all have the same threshold levels.

2. Our threshold levels can be moved (up or down).

There are medications that people can take to help raise their seizure threshold (i.e. make it “harder” for them to have a seizure), and we can only assume Wayne is being treated with one of those meds.

But, we can also assume that he is a fan of the stereotypical “hip-hop party lifestyle” being portrayed in most of his videos and rhymes. So, lets take a look at things that may actually be lowering this dudes seizure threshold:

A) Molly: This is the more pure form of its sister drug, ecstasy (in nerd-speak, the name is 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine [MDMA]). It’s hard to do actual scientific studies using “illegal” drugs in the United States, but based on animal studies, and the data collected from people that show up in the hospital after a bad trip on molly, the science shows that using molly can not only cause otherwise “normal” brains to have a seizure, it can actually permanently lower your sezure threshold, making you more likely to have seizures in the future, even when you’re not using the drug.

CONCLUSION: Poppin’ mollies raises the risk that you might be poppin’ and lockin’ (and not in the b-boy sense) forever.

B)Sizzurp: This little home-brew calls for one part promethazine/codeine syrup, some purple-drank(orMountain Dew, if ya want to get fancy), and your favorite flavor of Jolly Rancher, for that smooth after taste. And, as we’re pretty sure you’ve gathered, the purple drank and the Jolly-Rancher aren’t the main offenders in this mix. Promethazine is an anti-histamine drug and is most often prescribed for its sedative properties (aka tranquilizer like effects). Problem with it? You guessed it; this stuff mos-def lowers the sezure threshold. As for the other ingredient, codeine, this is mainly prescribed for its strong sedative and pain reliever effects. If you’re looking to slow down your breathing and heart rate, as well as drop your blood pressure to dangerously low levels, go’head, drink up because that’s exactly what too much of this stuff will do.

CONCLUSION: Tired of waiting for your next epileptic seizure to happen? Try sippin’ on some seizure-urp.

C)Stress / Lack of Sleep: There is absolutely no doubt that lack of proper rest and high levels of stress can lower a persons seizure threshold. And, if you’ve paid any attention to Wayne’s career, there is no doubt that the dude is constantly on the move. But, unlike the substances we’ve mentioned above, it’s hard to not get stressed out. That being said, staying well rested and staying away from things that may lower your seizure threshold are probably two good bets to staying out of the seizure zone.

CONCLUSION: Get your rest on.

D) Alcohol: From the best we can tell, drinking alcohol in small amounts (1-2 drinks per day) usually does not lower a person’s seizure threshold. Even those with epilepsy should be allowed to drink alcohol in limited amounts. There are exceptions though, of course, like those with a history of alcohol abuse, or a history of alcohol-related seizures. The other thing to keep in mind here is that the most serious risk of seizures in connection with alcohol use is when a chronic boozer hasn’t had a drink in days and finds themselves in withdrawal, that is “the hangover” period. This can last up to 7-9 days after the last drink.

CONCLUSION: Be easy with the get-loose-juice.

E) Marijuana: According to several research studies over the past fifty years in both humans and animals, marijuana may have ANTIconvulsant properties, which means that they may actually prevent seizures. Yup. In fact, there have been accounts from the 15th century (back in the day-day-day) of marijuana being used to treat Epilepsy. A study by Columbia University actually showed that marijuana had a protective effect against first time seizures in men.

CONCLUSION: Puff, puff, pass… if you’ve been properly diagnosed by a medical professional, are being managed by a licensed physician and you live in a state where the use of medicinal marijuana is legal, of course.

Injury-Duty Insight: Yes, we’re sure there are a ton of drugs, both prescribed and not so prescribed that could have played a role in Wayne’s recent hospital stay, but we wanted to be fair and only address the stuff he’s most recently “told us” he’s been gettin’ into as of late. As for our professional recommendation, we’d advise less emphasis on “keepin’ it gangsta” and more emphasis on “keepin’ Wayne alive”.

-Team Injury-Duty

*We’re pretty sure he meant 30 beats per minute, not 30%. Just wanted to clear that up. And, unless you’re an elite athlete, 30 bpm is not good.

how japanese streetwear brand bape blends hip-hop with iconic fashion

japanese fashion designer tomoaki nagao, better known as nigo, is renowned for being the founder and creative director of the japanese streetwear brand a bathing ape, which is commonly referred to as bape.

since its founding in 1993, bape has established itself a cult-like following in japan which allowed it to cross over to the u.s. market, making itself into one of the most iconic streetwear brands.

in the early 2000s, bape was one of the most coveted fashion brands in the entire world, and nigo’s position in the fashion industry allowed him to collaborate with artists like pharrell williams and hiroshi fujiwara, to name a few. these collaborations have allowed him to illustrate his creative influences and artistry in unique ways and showcase his wide array of influences and inspirations.