His father was a doctor and Lil’ O and his four brothers and one sister had a middle class upbringing. His mother passed away from lung cancer when Lil’ O was just 13 and suddenly his father’s conservative African values began to chase him to rebellion.[2] Soon after his mother’s death, Lil’ O began hanging in the streets with friends who were in the drug game, and he quickly became addicted to the fast money that drug dealing brought in. “I got street fame, women, and a lot of money quickly and easily,” he says. Of course, he eventually got collared. After his arrest, his father kicked him out of the house and Lil’ O fell deeper into the lure of the drug game. While out on bond, O continued to sell drugs and was caught again. This time he attempted to swallow the evidence before the police could arrest him. He swallowed an ounce-and-a-half of crack coc*ine and his lungs collapsed. He was put on life support and his father was told to prepare for his death. “It’s really a miracle that I woke up at all,” says