300 Entertainment co-founder Lyor Cohen was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a pulmonary embolism, according to a dramatic series of videos on his Snapchat account. A rep from 300 confirmed the information but did not immediately provide details on Cohen’s condition or expected release.
However, he seems well on his way to recovery — and very much his brash self — in the Snapchat videos, which show him wearing an oxygen mask. “So it would take much more to kill me than a submassive pulmomary embolism,” Cohen, 56, says in the first clip. “If it wasn’t for my son, and my best friend Norm, I would have been a goner,” he continues. “There’s actually nothing I could do. Anybody could get it. It’s a little blood clot that goes right up the body into the lungs and heart.”
On Monday afternoon, 300 provided a statement that reads in part: “[Cohen] is currently being treated and in stable condition at a local hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery and will be back in action very soon. Lyor, his family and all at 300 Entertainment would like to thank everyone for their continued love and support.” A rep for the company was uncertain when Cohen will be released from the hospital.
A pulmonary embolism is the sudden blockage of a blood vessel in the lung, usually caused by a blood clot. In most cases the clots are small, but if large enough to stop bloodflow to the lung, they can be fatal if not treated expediently.
“One thing I do know, the fact that I’m so in shape and worked out all these years, it helped me survive it,” Cohen continues in the post. “Had I waited, like I typically want to do, had it not been for [son] Az and Norm insisting… The doctor said if I’d waited another four hours, I would be toast.”
The posts take a comic turn at the end when Cohen shows video of his doctor — a Dr. Khalid, whose last name is not stated or visible on his nameplate — then quips, “You’re not DJ Khaled, are you?”
In the next post, DJ Khaled is standing beside Cohen’s bed.
“You’re not my doctor!” Cohen shouts.
“I had to come see my brother,” Khaled says with a smile. “I seen you on Snapchat and said ‘I gotta tell the boss to take it easy,’” he continues, while Cohen laughs.
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Cohen was rushed to the hospital not long after attending N.W.A’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.
A veteran hip-hop executive who spent many years in top posts at Rush Management, Def Jam Recordings and Warner Music Group, Cohen and his 300 Entertainment colleagues Kevin Liles and Todd Moscowitz ranked No. 81 on Billboard’s Power 100 earlier this year. Their company had hits from Fetty Wap, Young Thug and Migos over the past year.
This article was updated on Monday, April 11 at 1:45 p.m. ET to include 300’s statement.