A rapper felt pressured to get a bunch of cosmetic work done so she could "be successful without the help of a man."

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"So they didn't even give me a chance to go into the auditions," she said.

He actually went by Hershal or Ali growing up, and he eventually started going by Mahershala.

She also said, "The fact that I've been able to just be myself and wear my natural hair has been really important. I've had people say to me, 'My little girl who used to hate her hair now wants to have her hair like you.' And that makes me so emotional, because it took me such a long time to love my own hair. It took a really long time to love and appreciate this crown that grows out of my head."

Five years later, she started experiencing pain in her legs and back, migraines, fatigue, and other unexplained symptoms. Eventually, her doctors found out that the silicone was spreading down her legs, so one suggested she get liposuction. 

She said, "He thought that you could go and suck it out, but it spread... It's definitely a new procedure, so he didn't know... I went on tour about a week and a half later…but after a few performances, I was rushed to the emergency room." 

Removing the affected tissue required three additional surgeries. She said, "I had these lumps, and I was very disfigured." She planned to get reconstructive surgery.

She said she would've loved to keep her hair during that time, adding, "I cut it for personal reasons, 'cause after — I have a 2-year-old, if you guys didn't know — so I cut my hair after pregnancy. I just need a change for some reason. It was just hitting me, and I'm one of those people. I have to be drastic about change."