Rapper Joe Budden has received bad news on the eve of his debut album release - his voice is at risk.

Budden, who is scheduled to release his self-titled album on 10 June (03), has recently been plagued with voice problems. And after a medical examination, Budden was informed that he had a polyp on his right vocal cord which may require surgery.

He says, "I might have to get surgery to get my voice back. I got some swelling going on back there. It just comes from a lot of acid. I drink a lot of acidy s**t. You'll never see me without a beverage. Even now my voice is a whole lot deeper than normal. You can hear something is going on."

Budden admits he was often embarrassed by the sudden loss of his voice during performances, explaining, "I was doing so much and doing shows, I would come out rapping and in the middle of the show, my voice would disappear. It would go away completely. It was very embarrassing."

According to the rapper's representatives at Def Jam RECORDS, Budden, who is currently resting on doctor's orders, hasn't set a date for surgery.

21/05/2003 21:14