Lil Wayne on Recent Health Scare: 'I Could've Died'

By Carlos Greer

03/29/2013 at 11:40 AM EDT

Despite vehement denials from his friends as to the severity of Lil Wayne's condition after the Grammy winner suffered a seizure two weeks ago, the rapper confirms his condition was very serious.

"I'm an epileptic, so I'm prone to seizures," Wayne, 30, told Los Angeles radio station Power 106 on Thursday. "This isn't my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh seizure. I've had a bunch of seizures. Y'all just never hear about it."

Wayne neither confirmed nor denied reports that he was in a medically induced coma, but did describe the experience as near-fatal.

"It got real bad because I got three [seizures] in a row, and on the third one my heart rate went down to, like, 30 percent," he said. "Basically, I could've died soon. That's why it was so serious."

The rapper blamed the seizures on his rigorous work schedule. "The reason being for the seizures is just plain stress, no rest and overworking myself. That's typical me, though."

Beginning in July, Wayne – who, as the founder of Young Money Entertainment, a subsidiary of Cash Money Records, introduced Nicki Minaj and Drake – will embark on a multi-city national tour to promote his 10th studio album, I Am Not a Human Being II.