Los Angeles, Aug 21 (IANS): Pioneering American rapper-record producer Dr. Dre has opened up about the severity of his illness when he was hospitalised for a brain aneurysm last year, reports People magazine.

Speaking on the Workout the Doubt podcast earlier this month, the music producer shared details from his stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles, where he was reportedly taken to the intensive care unit via an ambulance in January 2021.

Since the incident occurred during the onset of the pandemic, Dre, 57, quoted by People, told the podcast host Dolvett Quince that he was not allowed to receive any visitors.

"But they allowed my family to come in," he explained. "I found out later, they called them up, so they could say their last goodbyes because [doctors] thought I was out of here."

"I didn't know it was that serious, you know? I am seeing my mom, my sister, and everybody come into the room," Dre continued. "Nobody told me. I had no idea. That was crazy."

According to People, noting that he was in the ICU for two weeks, Dre added, "because of what was going on in my brain, they had to wake me up every hour on the hour for two weeks to do these tests... basically sobriety tests, like touching your nose, rubbing your heel on your calf and all that."

"As soon as they leave, I will try to go to sleep because I knew they would be coming back in the next hour," he said. Despite everything that was going on, he shared he "never felt like I was in trouble."

"I felt like, 'Okay, I am just going through the procedure. I am ready to go home. I am hungry,' I didn't eat for two weeks. That was a really crazy experience," he said.

Soon after he was hospitalised, Dre wrote an update about his health to his fans on Instagram, saying that he was "doing great and getting excellent care."