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Bay Area rapper Saafir affirmed his place in the Hip-Hop elite back in the 1990s after taking on Oakland-based rap crew the Hieroglyphics in a freestyle battle. Now, the Saucee Nomad is currently bound to a wheelchair after suffering severe spinal damage exacerbated by his addiction to the drug ecstasy, allegedly.

Media veteran Davey D published a blog posting from Shock G of Digital Underground, who explains in a timeline how Saafir went from a muscle bound rap titan to his current frail state between the years of 1992 to the present. The blog made its rounds on the Internets, depicting the physical fall of one of rap’s brightest and most ferocious lyricists.

Excerpts of Shock G’s email below:

1992: Survived TWA plane crash at JFK scheduled for Frisco. Engine blew during take-off, skidded-out sidewayz off the runway, came to a stop, and after a few seconds, burst into flames.

Saafir was the first one off, but he jumped before the slide fully inflated and wound up jolting his lower back as his feet hit the ground beneath the thin material.

1994 to 1999: He popped hella ecstasy without drinking the required water to protect the spine from dehydration.

Shock G then explained that an alternative health practitioner temporarily healed Saafir of his back pain while traveling as part of the Up In Smoke Tour in 2000. After touring for six years, his back pain returned and the rapper had a spinal operation in 2007. Shock G then details how Saafir has resorted to peddling his pain meds because of a lack of revenue in the music business.

Now said to be living in squalor and feasting on nothing but takeout meals, Saafir is paralyzed from the hip down. A failed operation attempt in Arizona dampened the “Battle Drill” rapper’s spirits and Shock G’s email didn’t offer anything resembling a happy ending.

Get well soon, Saafir.

Check out some pictures after the jump, including Saafir’s acting turn in Menance II Society as Cousin Harold.

Photo: Davey D

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