'All I remember is seeing a white light': Jeremih opens up about coronavirus battle

Jeremih, here performing during the 2019 Soul Train Awards on November 17, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is currently in an intensive care unit as he battles COVID-19. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via CNN)

LOS ANGELES — (Variety.com) - Jeremih opened up about his harrowing battle with COVID-19 during an appearance on "Sway's Universe" on Tuesday. While he appeared on the show to promote his new holiday album with Chance the Rapper (which includes two new tracks along with songs from their earlier holiday releases), Sway broached the topic about ten minutes into the interview, asking Jeremih whether his experience should be a "less" for anyone who still somehow believes the pandemic isn't that big a deal.

"What I can say is, man, it definitely is real," Jeremih said. "I didn't take it for granted. And truth be told, I'm a living, walking testimony. To let y'all know, I was really down bad for the last month and a half. While I was in there -- you know, I don't even remember the day I went in. That's how messed up I was."

Jeremih said that he had to look through photos of his time in the ICU to jog his memory of the experience.

"I had the tube down my throat for about a week and a half," he said. "I was really, like, in a dream, and I ain't gonna lie, I woke up about two times and all I remember is just seeing a white light.

"What I ended up having was called a inflammatory syndrome: MIS. All my organs became inflamed. My heart started beating irregularly, my kidneys went out, my liver started to go bad. Mind you, I didn't know what was going on at the time. I was out."

Once he had gotten through the worst, he had to re-learn how to do the most basic functions. "I had to learn how to walk again, eat, all that," he said.

And he gets bonus points for spinning the experience into a positive one.

"I look at it as kind of somewhat of a blessing now, as crazy as it might sound," he said. "I needed to sit down. I needed to take a break."