What you need to know
Ray J recently surprised his fans by sharing an update on his health.
“2027 is definitely the end for me,” the R&B singer said on Instagram Live in January 2026. The live show was reposted on X after TMZ reported that he had been hospitalized in Las Vegas with heart problems and pneumonia. “My health is not okay.”
Ray J (née William Raymond Norwood Jr.) claimed on a livestream that doctors gave him months to live, but in an Instagram video posted on January 25, he said if he continues on the “right path” “everything will be fine.”
Days later, the Love & Hip Hop star told TMZ that he was bedridden, prescribed eight different medications, and may need a pacemaker or defibrillator.
So, how is Ray J’s health? Here’s everything the singer said about her condition and prognosis.
Ray J suffered from severe pneumonia in 2021
Maury Phillips/Getty
This isn’t the first time Ray J has suffered from a severe lung infection. In October 2021, while in Miami, he was hospitalized with non-communicable pneumonia. His longtime manager, David Weintraub, told PEOPLE that the musician is “overworked” and will be sent home in the next few days.
Although his hospitalization came at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ray J continued to test negative.
“Thank you for all your love and support,” he sent a message to his fans through his manager. “Thank you for keeping me in your prayers. I’ll be right back running.”
He was hospitalized with pneumonia and heart problems in 2026
Ray J/Instagram
On January 6, the “Sexy Can I” singer was admitted to a Las Vegas hospital with heart pain and severe pneumonia, TMZ reported. It’s unclear how long Ray J was in treatment, but a few weeks later he shared an Instagram video of him leaving the hospital.
TMZ reported that Ray J underwent X-rays and an echocardiogram while in the hospital.
“I want to thank everyone who prayed for me,” the musician said in a video he shared on Jan. 25. “I was in the hospital. My heart was only beating at about 25%… My health is not okay, so I would like to thank everyone for praying for me and supporting me.”
Ray J attributed his heart problems to drug abuse
Steven Feldman/Getty
During Ray J’s Instagram Live video, he told viewers that the right side of his heart had turned “black” due to excessive alcohol and drug abuse.
“I was done with it,” he explained. “You know why? …Because I thought I weighed more. So I thought I was a big shot, so I could tolerate all the alcohol. I could tolerate all the Adderall. I could tolerate all the drugs, but I couldn’t. And that shortened my time here.”
The reality TV star claimed that at his peak he was drinking “four or five bottles a day” and taking “10 bottles” of Addy’s.
“I’m like, ‘Nothing’s happening to me, right? Huh, that. I’m immortal,'” Ray J said. “It’s just a joke. Everyone please be careful.”
He claimed that doctors told him he had only a few months to live.
unique nicole/getty
The R&B singer also claimed during a livestream that doctors told him he only had months to live, and confirmed that prognosis on TMZ on January 29th.
Ray J told the outlet that doctors didn’t know how long he had left to live and started him on intensive medication. He claimed he was prescribed eight different medications and may also receive a pacemaker and defibrillator.
In addition to resting, the singer was also told not to drink or smoke.
Ray J said he’ll be fine as long as he continues on the “right path”
Bennett Raglin/Getty
Despite his poor health, Ray J remains hopeful. On his Instagram Live and on TMZ, he mentioned going to Haiti and claimed that his research led him to believe there was a cure for heart disease there.
In his Instagram video, he told fans, “As long as you stay focused and stay on the right path, everything will be fine.”
