On Tuesday (April 14), DJ Jazzy Jeff opened up on Tamron Hall about his scary experience with COVID-19.
According to the DJ, he came down with the virus after performing at the annual Black Summit of the National Brotherhood of Skiers in Ketchum, Idaho in early March. (Following the event, over 100 attendees reportedly fell ill with COVID-19, bringing the virus home with them.)
“I didn’t even realize the severity of it,” DJ Jazzy Jeff told host Tamron Hall over video chat. “When my wife and I were at the store, I looked at her and told her I didn’t feel well. And she was asking what was wrong, and I said ‘I feel a little achy, like I’m coming down with something.’ I literally went home and got into bed and almost don’t remember the next 11 days after that…”
“When we finally were able to go to the doctor, they wouldn’t test me for COVID-19,” he continued. “They gave me a flu test and then gave me an x-ray on my lungs and said I had pneumonia in both of my lungs, which terrified me to death.”
The DJ also called into Will Smith‘s Snapchat series, Will From Home, to detail his symptoms. “I had a temperature that reached 103. I had the chills. I lost sense of smell. I lost sense of taste,” he told his longtime collaborator, before adding that he doesn’t see the health crisis ebbing any time soon. “Unfortunately, people think we’re at the end [of the pandemic], and I think we’re really at the beginning.”
Watch both of DJ Jazzy Jeff’s interviews for more about his “Keep Yo A** In Da House” social distancing campaign below.