Kodak Black showed off a new herpes sore on Live last week, and now he’s trying to defend his reasoning behind it.

Almost immediately after bragging to fans about his new cold sore – commenters pointed out that cold sores are caused by the herpes virus.

It’s true. Cold sores are caused by a virus – the herpes simplex virus (HSV). There are two types of herpes simplex virus that can cause cold sores: HSV type 1 and HSV type 2. Cold sores are usually caused by HSV type 1. The HSV type type 2 is more commonly found with genital herpes.

You usually catch HSV when you come into contact with people or things that carry the virus. For instance, you can get it from kissing someone who’s infected or when you share eating utensils, towels, or razors.