South African rapper Nasty C has opened up about a deeply personal part of his journey, his past struggles with heavy smoking and daily drinking, and how he unexpectedly walked away from both habits.
In an interview with Roselyn Felli on JoyPrime TV on Monday November 24, the rapper revealed that he once lived a life completely surrounded by substances, a lifestyle fueled by late studio nights and constant creative sessions with friends.
Reflecting on the period, he admitted:
“I used to be a heavy smoker… smoking every single day, all day, every day. And drinking every night, every day.”
Nasty C described how his living environment at the time -staying with friends and doing studio work around the clock made substance use feel normal.
“As soon as I woke up, we were getting up to something. If we weren’t going outside, we were recording. And substances were just rolling all day.”
Despite the intense habits, Nasty C revealed that his path out of addiction was surprisingly straightforward — he simply quit.
“I just stopped,” he said. “I woke up one day and just stopped.”
He explained that smoking began to affect his mental health, leading to paranoia and anxiety, which motivated him to walk away from it completely.
“It gave me paranoia at some point and made me anxious… I didn’t like that, so I just stopped.”
Alcohol, however, was different. He didn’t cut it off entirely, but drastically reduced how often he drinks.
“With alcohol, I was like, this is boring. I don’t want to do this anymore. I didn’t stop-stop, but I don’t do it as much. Only when I’m outside or working, just to get the edge off.”
