El Debarge is famous for eighties hits such as “I Like It” and “All This Love.” Unfortunately, what’s equally famous is the singer’s drug addiction and numerous arrests for various drug-related charges. The 50-year-old music veteran made a comeback in 2010 with the album ‘Second Chance,’ and was nominated for two Grammy’s, but shortly after, news surfaced that Debarge entered rehab yet again just days before kicking off his tour. Little did fans know that rapper 50 Cent and R&B entrepreneur Babyface had been the ones to lend a helping hand to the troubled star. In a recent radio interview with Atlanta’s V103 radio station, Debarge candidly tells of their intervention.
He explains, “I started getting these thoughts, and I called 50 cent up, and I said, ‘You gotta help me…I’m already on my way to doing something wrong.’ So 50 came like five cars deep, picked me up right from where I was, got me outta there, they met up with Babyface, they took me into Interscope, we all had a meeting, and they said, ‘Man why don’t you just go to rehab.'”
He reassures he never physically went back to the narcotics, but that the relapse was in his mind, saying, “You have to get your mind right, and you have to have the tools to that you need to stay in recovery.”
DeBarge also spoke about how he saw Whitney Houston a few days before her untimely passing, and briefly planned on working together. “She said ‘I need you, I wanna finish my album, I want you to sing with me…’ I was just happy that she embraced me like that, and I wanted to do something, but the next thing I know, she was gone,” he adds.
Hopefully that meeting with Whitney Houston shortly before her passing will help him as a reminder to stay on the right track.
El DeBarge: Interview Part 1
El DeBarge: Interview Part 2
