BigXthaPlug became emotional during an interview when talking about his autistic son.
In a new sitdown with the New York Times’ Popcast, the 27-year-old rapper discussed fatherhood and the emotional weight of raising his six-year-old son.
“Before I ever started rapping, my son was so smart. I mean, he’s still so, so smart,” he said near the 59-minute mark. “My biggest year maybe rapping, I found out the same year that my son has autism … And it’s, like, he went from being very verbal, to just start deteriorating. Like, he stopped talking.”
BigX explained that his music career provides financial security for his children, but also keeps him physically distant. The “Largest” rapper described how painful it was to be away from his son after promising him, “You’ll never not see me a day in your life.”
He choked up briefly, admitting, “That’s why I don’t even like talking about it, man. That take a lot out of me. But I’m doing it for him … I can’t stop doing it because then, how he gonna eat?”
“I feel like, for me to be such a great dad, I should be there because I would hate for me one day for me that I’m supposed to be there and I can’t be there. Because that’s gonna mess me up more than anything,” he elaborated.
He emphasized that while his son gets “the best of everything,” the struggle remains because of his autism.
“It hurts me because I only started doing this for him,” Big explained. “It’s always gonna be harder for him, so I did everything that I’m doing to make life easier for him and it’s still gonna be hard on him.”
Even with the difficulties, BigXthaPlug asserts that “autistic kids are the smartest kids in the world.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, he talked about the sense of purpose his one-year-old daughter gives him.
“I made [it to] her first birthday,” Big said. “But now that I have a daughter, it’s like, now I’m doing it because it’s like: my daughter will always have the best. So whenever she gets married, that man is gonna have to be the best … because she got a daddy that’s gonna do everything for her.”
Watch BigXthaPlug’s full episode of the Popcast up top.
