Rap star Ab-Soul recently said in an interview that he has discussed damage from Stevens Johnson Syndrome with producer and fellow rapper Sean “Puffy” Combs, also known as “Puff Daddy”  and “P. Diddy.”

Ab-Soul, whose birth name is Herbert Stevens IV, is a critically-acclaimed rapper. As a child, he suffered Stevens Johnson Syndrome.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or SJS, is an autoimmune reaction, a condition in which the immune system goes haywire. Under normal circumstances, the immune system protects the body, killing germs like bacteria and viruses. But when this system goes haywire, the immune system can attack the body’s own organs and tissue. In the case of SJS, the body attacks the largest organ in the body, the skin.

Ab-Soul’s loss of vision was not complete; he still has some degree of sight. In an interview with Justin D. Live, Ab-Soul described the damage: “I’m not completely blind. So the analogy is like, your cornea is your windshield. So if you windshield is cracked, you get bad glare from the sun sometimes. That’s why you wanna get that fixed.” This was expanding on an earlier statement in which the rapper stated that he remembered having 20/20 vision prior to developing SJS.

Ab-Soul also mentioned that he has discussed the matter with Combs. According to the interview, Combs was encouraging Ab-Soul to go through with a corneal transplant that could restore the rapper’s vision. This procedure would replace the specific part of Ab-Soul’s eyes that were damage by SJS.

Nearly every case of SJS is triggered by an individual’s reaction to drugs. Many common prescription drugs have allegedly caused SJS, including antidepressants, seizure medications, and even over-the-counter pain medicines.

Doctors have identified some genes as playing a role in SJS, but the role of genetics in SJS is complex. The reaction seems to involve a complicated group of genes interacting, priming a patient for the potentially deadly reaction. Physicians are largely at a loss to predict who will get SJS from what drug with any degree of accuracy, beyond genetic testing prior to some seizure drugs.

SJS starts with generalized flu-like SJS symptoms like aches, pains, and fever. SJS symptoms rapidly progress to a painful skin rash with sores and ulcers. The damage can be fatal, and may spread to the eyes and internal organs. In many cases, the damage to the eyes can cause permanent blindness. In the case of Ab-Soul, the damage to his eyes from SJS has been permanent, due to scarring on his corneas.

Survivors like Ab-Soul face a lifetime of complications and difficult medical decisions. In some cases, SJS has also led to SJS lawsuits. In SJS lawsuits, plaintiffs may allege that drug companies have not done enough to protect the public from the risk of SJS, or that hospitals and medical centers failed to adequately treat or protect SJS patients, extending their illness and worsening their outcomes.