Remember This '80s Hip-Hop Rapper? He Thought He Had Lost His Voice Forever after a Car Accident

Hip-hop was the hottest music genre of the late '80s and '90s, with rappers booming from both the west and east coasts. However, it was rappers from Compton, California that were slaying the game in more ways than one, with household names like Dr. Dre and D.O.C. belting out the best beats.

Tracy Lynn Curry, or D.O.C., was ready to become one of the best rappers in the league. In fact, his 1989 solo album called "No One Can Do It Better" was a classic, earning a platinum and receiving praises from fellow big game rappers like Jay-Z.

Unfortunately for D.O.C., only three months after its successful release, the rapper drove home intoxicated from a video shoot and crashed his car. During the accident, paramedics tried to insert a breathing tube, but he refused. This caused his larynx to be scarred and damaged his voice for good. His stellar flow, hardcore delivery, and voice command was gone, and it seems his career in the music industry was over, too.

Instead of being in front of the microphone, D.O.C. ended up ghost writing hit songs for the likes of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, such as "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang" and "The Next Episode." He still continues to write songs and is even trying to perform again, but his voice is raspy and not as strong as it used to be.

“It’s been a real struggle. And I’m sure that I tried to commit suicide a whole bunch of times. Lots of drugs and alcohol, and not being able to do the one thing that you really love doing. It was a real struggle. But through all of it, I never turned my back on anybody. I never said anything ill of anybody. I love and have respect and admiration for everybody in my past. I don’t have any animosity toward anybody. And for God to tell me, He’s always put me in a position that I could do something special, and I’m really trying to do the right thing.”

According to the rapper, the doctors told him that his vocal cords would never work again. However, he feels as if something big is at play now that his vocal cords actually are working.

“I don’t have expectations anymore for anything. The doctors told me that those vocal cords would never work. So the fact that they’re working means that there’s something bigger at play. And so I’m going to look at it from a spiritual perspective and know that I could be in the middle of a moment that’s not really of my doing or my planning, but it’s very positive, and it’s very powerful, so I’m going to just continue walking.”