On the week of September 17, 2015, rapper Freeway endured a life-altering experience after learning he had been diagnosed with kidney failure.

“In 2015, I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease,” Free tells REVOLT.

The news arrived just days before the Philadelphia rapper’s scheduled performance at Free Fest Showcase, a concert held in Philly. Upon hearing the news, Freeway, born Leslie Pridgen, was rushed in for an emergency dialysis. Months after the unforeseen moment, the rapper appears in good spirits, enjoying what he describes as a new lease on life.

“It’s definitely a lifestyle change, but it is what it is. This is what God dealt for me, so I’m dealing with it,” he says. Never one to take a break from the music, the rapper channeled this life-changing incident through song on January’s Fear Of A Free Planet, thanks to his partner-in-rhyme Scholito.

Since the news, Free has been going through treatment via dialysis, which occurs three times a week and four hours a day.

“I’m feeling good,” he says. “The treatments actually makes me feel great and we ready to go.”

By “ready to go,” Free notes that this new lease on life has attributed to his musical hunger. On April 29, the “Hot As Ice” rapper will release his latest album Free Will, which will feature Scholito, Young Buck, Raheem DeVaughn, and more.