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Introducing The Chemo Kid (Video)

blame it on Shake December 29, 2010

California emcee Chemo Kid may not have earned his stripes at lunchroom battles or concert stages. But as a cancer survivor who pushed mixtapes from his hospital bed, his tale of struggle and perseverance is as inspiring as any rapper’s rags-to-riches story.

Chemo Kid grew up in Queens, NYC with a musically-inclined family. Both of his parents were the children of musicians, while his mother played clarinet and his father was a dedicated jazz aficionado who led music appreciation nights with the family every Friday. But Chemo Kid’s mother battled alcoholism, forcing his sister to serve as a mother figure by bathing him and clothing him while their dad was at work.

“My mother was an alcoholic, but she was a disciplinary, and I learned a lot from her,” Chemo Kid says. “How to be a strong person and how to be a leader and not a follower.”

These traits would become essential in 2005, when the then 21-year-old was diagnosed with cancer. For the next two years, he would earn his moniker through chemotherapy, a intense treatment method that uses chemicals to destroy cancerous cells. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (a rare cancer). Battling off and on with the disease for the past four years, he endured countless treatments of Chemotherapy, Spinal Taps, Bone Marrow Biopsies and several other tests. Late summer of 2006, he underwent an “Auto Bone Marrow Transplant” that would hold off the cancer for several months, but not catch it. The Chemo Kid once again went through a series of therapies and surgeries throughout 2007-2008, while waiting to receive a “Donor Bone Marrow Transplant”. Being half African-American and half Italian-American, chances of a donor were slim, but thankfully, he had his sister, Gabriella Goodman, as a perfect match. During the last stages of testing, The Chemo Kid and his family were hit with another devastating blow, discovering his sister’s test showed she also had a rare bone cancer called Multiple Myloma. Now this time not only he, but also his sister, had to suck it up and face the disease without fear. Luckily, there was a perfect match for The Chemo Kid and he underwent the transplant, but unfortunately the transplant did not help either and he is currently fighting for his life against what are seemingly insurmountable odds.

DOWNLOAD: The Chemo Kid – The Remission | Alt Link