On a late night in November 1989, Tracy Lynn Curry was speeding down a driveway of success.

He went by the rap alias The D.O.C., but thanks to his acclaimed Dr. Dre-produced debut album, everyone across the map associated the Left Coast native to the phrase labeled on the LP’s artwork: No One Can Do It Better. On that noted night, the “It’s Funky Enough” rapper didn’t happen to be just riding high in the metaphorical sense, he was also in the literal.

After a night of partying with a girlfriend, D.O.C. suffered a life-changing accident that saw the rapper, who was not wearing a seatbelt, thrown out of the rear window of his car and hitting a tree face first. He severed his vocal chords, thus turning his once distinct baritone into a raspy whisper. Since the accident, D.O.C. stepped into the background, playing ghostwriter while working with many of the game’s finest.

But two decades after since that life-altering incident, the man who gave us “The Formula” has revealed that his voice is back and better than ever.

It couldn’t have arrived at a better time, with Dr. Dre dropping his first album in 16-years and N.W.A. being spotlighted in one of this summer’s biggest Hollywood blockbusters. The D.O.C. confirmed via Twitter over the weekend that his original commanding voice is back. He showed off his signature voice in an interview with Sirius XM’s “From the Press Box to Press Row.”

“About a year and a half ago, my voice started coming back on its own and if I concentrate, I can speak with a natural speaking voice again,” he shared. “I don’t have the power that I had, but I have the voice,” he added. “It came back. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I was actually in prison when it came back.”Of course, after revealing the news, the D.O.C. was met with pressing questions from fans waiting for a new album.

Check out the D.O.C.’s full interview below: