“Got No Choice But to Carry On”
Suicide and Depression in Romeo and Juliet and Xxxtentacion’s 17
Rappers in the modern age have brought much attention to the serious topic of depression. Many rappers have battled with lifelong depression. Many rappers have shown depression from their actions and songs. =Logic, an up and coming rapper, hosted a suicide prevention tour. His hit song called “1–800–273–8255”. Which is the suicide prevention hotline number. Lil Uzi Vert had a hit song called “XO Tour LIif3”, whose lyrics said, “She said I’m insane yeah, I might blow my brains out” meaning he was dealing with a lot of family issues at the time and thought of suicide. Throughout Xxxtentacion’s newest album, “17” he references a lot of thoughts of suicide. A lot of ideas about depression.
As you listen to the album, he talks about how he put his heart and soul into this album. It is evident that depression is something that is important to him or that he has dealt with in his life. Some lyrics from the song “The Explanation” are, “Here is my pain and thoughts put into words. I put my all into this in the hopes it will help cure or at least numb your depression. I love you. Thank you for listening, Enjoy” Many people have and still struggle with depression and what X is trying to do is heal people through his music, and let them know that he has been there and knows what they are going through.
Romeo is depressed throughout the play, which eventually leads him to kill himself. When he found out that he was banished, he said it was a fate worse than death, threatening to kill himself. Eventually, he collapses and falls on the floor pulling out a knife next to his father, Friar Lawerence. Friar tells him not to be stupid and do something that would not only hurt him but hurt everyone around him. Romeo’s words were:
There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence “banished” is banish’d from the world,
And world’s exile is death; then “banished”
Is death misterm’d. Calling death “banished,”
Thou cut’st my head off with a golden axe,
And smilest upon the stroke that murders me.
The thought of being banished and unable to see the love of his life, Juliet puts Romeo into depression. He is at a point in which death would seem better than living without Juliet. Romeo eventually gets told that Juliet has died. She has not died, but Romeo has no idea. Romeo’s first instinct is to kill himself because he feels that he cannot live without his beloved Juliet. He buys poison and decides to kill himself next to Juliet.
FRIAR LAWRENCE
O deadly sin, O rude unthankfulness!
Thy fault our law calls death, but the kind prince,
Taking thy part, hath rushed aside the law
And turned that black word “death” to “banishment.”
This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not. (3.3.25–30)
[Chorus: XXXTENTACION]
Carry on, like flights, I just carry on
With this pain inside of my chest
Got no choice but to carry on, uh
Carry on, like flights, I just carry on
With this pain inside of my chest
Got no choice but to carry on, uh
Carry on, like flights, I just carry on
With this pain inside of my chest
Got no choice but to carry on, uh
Yeah
X and Friar Lawrence are bringers of good will. They want people to live. Friar is yelling at romeo to get his shit together. And X is telling people to carry on. To live. X is not similar to Romeo in that aspect. Romeo is a child who knows next to nothing about his feeling while X knows next to everything about depression. The fact that X can guide people through this is great.
X and Romeo are people whose stories have had an impact on many people’s lives. Although Romeo’s story is a fictional story, the love and pain he felt is something people go through on a daily basis. X, a famous rapper, uses his platform to connect with his fans and let them know they are not alone. X gives people hope that they can get through their depression and that death isn’t the answer. As each story walks, it’s own path we have to remember that though one is real and one if fiction, depression is an ongoing issue that millions of people battle.
Abstract
It was difficult to like Romeo’s character. The idea of being in love consumed him and made him push away his friends in his life. His friends laughed at his obsession with being in love. X is the opposite of Romeo. He doesn’t let love get in his way of his dreams and goals; he fights for what he wants. X has had many run-ins with the law and uses those experiences to push himself to achieve his goals
Citations
https://genius.com/albums/Xxxtentacion/17
https://genius.com/Xxxtentacion-the-explanation-lyrics
https://genius.com/Xxxtentacion-depression-and-obsession-lyrics
https://genius.com/Xxxtentacion-revenge-lyrics
https://genius.com/Xxxtentacion-fuck-love-lyrics
https://genius.com/Xxxtentacion-carry-on-lyrics
https://pitchfork.com/news/xxxtentacion-now-has-a-trial-date-on-charges-of-beating-a-pregnant-woman/
