Kid Cudi wrote on his blog that he “broke down” over the death of Ben Breedlove, an 18-year-old fan from Austin, Texas, who suffered a fatal heart attack on Christmas Day.
Cudi heard about Breedlove after a pair of YouTube videos the fan made went viral before his death. In the videos, Breedlove silently holds up cards that tell the story of living with a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a disease that causes the heart muscles to enlarge, making it difficult to pump blood properly. He says he “cheated death” three times: the most recent time in early December when EMTs used shock pads on his chest after his heart stopped. He described a vision of being in a white room and being with his “favorite rapper, Kid Cudi” wearing white suits and feeling “happy and peaceful” and he “couldn’t stop smiling.” He ended his videos with a card that read “Do you believe in God and angels? I do.”
After watching the videos, Kid Cudi wrote: “I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart. I broke down, I am to tears because I hate how life is so unfair. This has really touched my heart in a way I cant describe, this is why I do what I do.”
Cudi went on to say, “To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine. You have my love.”
Breedlove’s parents released an obituary in the Austin American-Statesman on Thursday (December 29) referencing the videos and writing, “Now the world has come to know our Ben. He was a genius at using the Internet to reach and influence his peers. … In the weeks prior to his death, he had faced some scary situations with his health, but had been given an amazing gift that he was determined to share; first with us, his family, and then, not surprisingly (and generously) with his YouTube audience.”
(Post courtesy of MTV.com)
Here’s the sad video left by Ben:
