Musician Takura has opened up about his battle with drug abuse and the controversy surrounding his stage names, Takura and Shona Prince.
Takura, who recently released the Vanilla EP, made these revelations during an interview with Miss Red on ZiFM Stereo.
When quizzed on why he had taken a sabbatical from live shows and public appearances, Takura admitted he was “going through stuff”.
“I stopped doing live shows and public appearances because I was depressed and going through stuff,” he explained.
“I was taken to rehab by my people because I was doing drugs then — I was doing lean.”
Lean, also known as “purple drank” or “sizzurp”, is a mixture of codeine cough syrup, soda, and hard candy, occasionally combined with alcohol. It is among the prescription opioids that cause severe addiction.
The concoction gets its name from its physical effects.
Users tend to slouch or lean to one side the more they consume.
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In the music industry, acts like Three 6 Mafia and rap mogul Lil Wayne have frequently name-dropped “lean”, “sizzurp” and “dirty sprite” in their lyrics, cementing the drink's association with hip-hop luxury and lifestyle.
Moving on to the controversy regarding his names, the artist clarified that there was nothing sinister about the changes.
It had previously been reported that the artist was embroiled in a contractual dispute with his label, allegedly resulting in him losing the rights to use the name Takura and perform songs under it — hence the sudden pivot to Shona Prince.
However, Takura firmly debunked those rumors.
“I own my music. I have never been signed to anybody, and I never will be,” he said.
“Shona Prince was my first nickname back in 2010, before I decided to use Takura.
“I have always wanted to make music under both names.
“Shona Prince is for when I'm being experimental and trying out new things, whereas Takura is for when I'm doing what people already know me for.
“I just wanted to introduce that other side of me.”
