Rapper Missy Elliott trimmed down her bulky figure when a doctor told her she was hurtling towards an early grave. The "Get Ur Freak On" hitmaker was stunned when a medic urged her to lose weight or risk tipping her high blood pressure problems over the edge - because fans and record company bosses never had a problem with her size.

She reveals, "The reason I lost weight is because I have high blood pressure. I take two blood pressure pills a day. My doctor told me, 'If you wanna be around , you're gonna have to lose weight.' So that was my focus."

-Missy Elliott Pictures
-Missy Elliott Ringtones

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)