{"id":259203,"date":"2026-01-30T10:50:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/259203\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T10:50:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:50:14","slug":"important-hip-hop-figure-hospitalized-with-tremendous-health-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/259203\/","title":{"rendered":"Important Hip-Hop Figure Hospitalized With &#8216;Tremendous Health Issues&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A trailblazing figure in Houston\u2019s hip-hop scene has been hospitalized over the past week with serious health issues.<\/p>\n<p>        Videos by Suggest<\/p>\n<p>In a Jan. 28 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DUEhKGLgX1g\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Instagram post<\/a>, the family of Michael \u201c5000\u201d Watts gave fans a harrowing update on the hip-hop legend\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the past week, Michael 5000 Watts has experienced some tremendous health issues that have caused him to be hospitalized,\u201d his family began. \u201cWe are asking the community, fans, followers, and all that he has impacted to pray for him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe appreciate the outpouring of love and support as we trust God for healing and favor,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cDue to restrictions, we respectfully ask that you limit visitation at the hospital unless advised by family. The Watts family will keep everyone posted on updates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you in advance for your continued prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"678\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/important-hip-hop-figure-hospitalized-with-tremendous-health-issues.jpeg\" alt=\"important-hip-hop-figure-hospitalized-with-tremendous-health-issues.\" class=\"wp-image-2914288\"  \/>Hip-Hop pioneer Michael \u201c5000\u201d Watts performing in 2006. (Photo by Julia Beverly\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Of course, fans took to the comments section to show their support for the ailing hip-hop artist. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou got this WATTS!!!! \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffd God is with you,\u201d one top comment read. \u201cPraying for you, Watts &amp; Family,\u201d a second fan added. \u201cPraying for speedy recovery. We love you, Watts!\u201d a third fan echoed. <\/p>\n<p>Michael \u20185000\u2019 Watts Helped Launch the Career of Several Beloved Hip-Hop Artists <\/p>\n<p>Watts, a Houston-based DJ and producer, is the founder of Swishahouse Records, a Southern hip-hop label that helped shape Houston\u2019s sound and influence the genre across the U.S. He helped popularize the \u201cchopped and screwed\u201d style, a slowed-down remix technique that became a hallmark of Houston hip-hop culture, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khou.com\/article\/news\/local\/michael-5000-watts-hospitalized\/285-0301fef2-00ff-4229-9418-23e856df9101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">KHOU<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Watts began DJing in Houston\u2019s Homestead neighborhood during the late 1980s. Though he initially produced fast-paced mixtapes, he later adopted the signature \u201cchopped and screwed\u201d style pioneered by DJ Screw. By founding Swishahouse, Watts was instrumental in launching the careers of major artists like Slim Thug, Paul Wall, and Mike Jones.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A trailblazing figure in Houston\u2019s hip-hop scene has been hospitalized over the past week with serious health issues.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-259203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}