Redman Talks Two-Year Celibacy, Says Sex Was ‘Feeding the Flesh’

Redman went on a period of celibacy for two and a half years, marking the “best” decision he’s ever made.

The Muddy Waters Too rapper was a guest on a recent episode of Ambrosia for Heads podcast What’s the Headline on Saturday (Jan. 11). At the 30-minute mark of the nearly two-hour-long chat, Redman shared the key decision that led him to release his eighth studio album after a hiatus of almost a decade.

“My girl and I broke up maybe three, four years ago. I was going through such a shit divorce that lasted seven years that played a role in why it took so long to drop Muddy Waters [Too]. I had so much on my plate,” Redman told AFH‘s Reggie Williams and Jake Paine.

The New Jersey native said during two and a half years, he “fasted” from smoking and sex. “It was the best thing I could have done in my life. It was the best thing,” he recalled.

Redman added that he was tempted to get back into the habit, but he persisted in ignoring it. “And believe me, I wanted to, I was fighting it, I was sweating,” he said. “I was in my house going crazy ’cause I live alone. I was constantly talking to myself. Me and God, just back and forth. But I made it, and it was the best thing I could have done.”

Ultimately, celibacy cleared out “so much distraction” for the How High star. “My reception is much clearer now. Having no sex is nothing to me now because it was all feeding the flesh,” Redman shared. “Once I did that, I was able to control how I moved, what I like, what is not good for me.”

Redman joins other artists in the celibacy movement, like Omarion, Lenny Kravitz and GloRilla, the latter of whom has dropped sex for 90 days for the New Year.

Last August, Omarion appeared on podcast Know Thyself, where he detailed the spiritual choice of becoming celibate for three years.

“It was just an interesting time. I was really studying my Bible, and ultimately, like I said in my book, it wasn’t for me,” the singer told host André Duqum. “But it allowed me to kind of step out of this world and have the responsibility of being a sex symbol and being a young adult.”