Bow Wow Reveals He Used to Be Addicted to Cough Syrup Bow Wow admitted that he was addicted to lean while he made his 2007 album, 'FACE OFF,' with Omarion. Lean is a combination of codeine-based cough syrup
and soda. Bow Wow, via Twitter Bow Wow, via Twitter The rapper decided to quit drinking lean once he ended up in the hospital while on tour. Bow Wow, via Twitter The rapper adds that he wants to "save the youth from going out early," by being more vocal about drugs. "We want y’all to live man," he says. "I almost died f------ with syrup. To this day I’m affected, my stomach will never be the same."