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A Powerful Connection: Hip Hop & Mental Health

Hailey Mathis
Music & Culture IRL
Published in
8 min readMay 9, 2022
A Powerful Connection: Hip Hop & Mental Health | Painting by Hailey Mathis

Mental health concerns have been around a long time and affect many people, especially in the younger generations. “Mental Health Facts: Children and Teens” provides the statistic that “1 in 5 teens between the ages of 13 and 18 may have or will have a serious mental illness” (1). People are challenged to find coping mechanisms, but one thing that has helped substantially is music, specifically hip hop. When listening to certain songs, people can find lyrics that resonate with how they are feeling. Artists have become more expressive in their songs with the topic of mental health and how they themselves are faring mentally. With popular artists incorporating lyrics like this, connections are being made with an audience who struggle with similar issues. Hip-hop artists are creating a support system through their lyrics, helping people get through tough times, and helping them feel less alone.

In many hip-hop writers’ lyrics, they speak about depression or anxiety, creating a space where people can go and listen to these songs when feeling that certain way. People can feel helpless battling a mental illness, but when rappers create songs that resonate with that feeling, it can provide help. “In fact, we can see in the lyrics many of the key risk factors for mental illness, from which it can be difficult to escape. Hip-Hop artists use their skills and talents not only to describe the world they see, but also as a means of breaking free” (Hip Hop Psych, 1). Commonly known as Juice WRLD, the artist born Jarad spoke about his pain and depression. “Young people around the world were truly touched by Jarad’s music because he spoke to issues and situations in his music that resonated with them so deeply” (Cristiano 5). Relating issues and situations in his songs that he personally went through made a connection with the audience listening. This makes people feel less solitairy in tough times, because people know that someone that they enjoy listening to relates to that problem as well.

Many artists have advocated for helping with mental challenges, especially through their song lyrics. A famous rapper who does this goes by the name of Logic. Logic created a song titled “1–800–273–8225,” which is the number for the suicide hotline. In an interview with The Today Show, Logic spoke about how he wants to reach people to let them know that they can get help. “It was the biggest platform I had in my life and I wanted to say something.” Also, in his lyrics to “1–800–273–8225” he states, “I want you to be alive, I want you to be alive, You don’t gotta die today, you don’t gotta die” (Logic 2017). These lyrics reach out to the people listening to his music to make them feel less alone. It tells them that they don’t need to harm themselves, and there are ways to get through it.

In the songs that various famous artists create, they share stories about their own personal struggles. Many rappers have such power in their music and lyrics that it can evoke a lot of emotion from the listener. This is because people can connect to the words in those lyrics, especially when they speak to situations that people are going through. This statement relates to mental health because many rappers write about the depression they themselves went through in their lives. In an interview with MTV News, Kendrick Lamar speaks about his songs that align with the community that endures mental health issues. He tells the interviewer, “I’m not only a voice for myself but for people that can’t express themselves.” People do connect with Lamar’s lyrics, and he knows that by expressing the pain he goes through other people can relate. “After a 2015 concert, Lamar saw a woman crying and murmuring ‘You saved my life.’ She told him she was going to kill herself a year ago, but his music helped her through” (Izadi 11). This statement gives such a powerful insight into how much artists lyrics can really help someone feel understood and that everything will be okay.

Music like hip hop can help cope with mental health. Certain rappers can change the way we think or can just overall change someone’s life from one song that they create. This is because of the willingness they have to express their emotions and mental health struggles, and how they get through them in the hope that it can help someone else. “Describing the ‘hip hop village’ as a place where truth gets told and community gets built, Clemente charged the village to remember that it is the business of saving lives” (Tesfamariam 9). More artists incorporating mental health experiences and challenges, including depression, into their music can help people get through tough times.

Playlist for Mental Health

“Righteous” Juice WRLD 2020

In “Righteous,” artist Juice WRLD describes dealing with his feeling of helplessness. In the music he talks about how he is abusing drugs to try to get away from the problems, and how he feels it’s the solution to help him. The lyrics show that people may resort to drugs because they don’t know what to do to help themselves get through the issues they face. Juice WRLD describes how people may go to what seems to be the solution in the moment but in the long run can make things worse.

“I Feel Like Dying” Lil Wayne 2007

In the song “I Feel Like Dying,” Lil Wayne describes and talks about drugs and how they help him feel good and get through tough times. But in other parts of the song, he describes how it pulls him into addiction and how the withdrawal makes him feel like he wants to die. The lyrics emphasize how resorting to drugs can create a spiral. Not getting help for mental health problems can lead to drug problems. As Lil Wayne describes, it’s important not to get addicted.

“SAD!” XXXTentacion 2018

“SAD!” Describes artist XXXTentacion’s struggle with severe depression because of a relationship that is not doing well. He states that if his partner leaves him, he will resort to suicide. Many of XXXTentacion’s songs describe his depression, and this song gives insight into one of the reasons. Depression can lead to suicide.

“Suicidal Thoughts” The Notorious B.I.G. 1994

Here Biggie describes telling friend Puff Daddy that he wants to commit suicide. Biggie feels he doesn’t want to be here anymore, and considers how he’s going to die. The song deals with his mental health throughout and explains how one might feel when dealing with suicidal thoughts, when going through this kind of struggle with depression.

“1–800–273–8255” Logic 2017

The song “1–800–273–8255,” Logic talks about how he doesn’t want to be alive anymore. He describes feeling crazy and not in control. He continues the song by saying he finally wants to be alive, and says it gets better with time to the audience. This is a good example of mental health and how artists like Logic have experienced the feeling of depression and knowing with time it improves. Logic tells the audience he wants them to be alive; even though it may be hard, it just takes time.

“Sober” Demi Lovato 2021

In “Sober,” artist Demi Lovato talks about her own struggles with addiction and sobriety. Demi describes what withdrawal was like for her and how she feels the addiction hurt her relationships. She describes her relapses and how her overall mental health was not good. Her lyrics voice to the audience, or to anyone that’s going through something related, that it’s a difficult struggle, but it gets better in the end.

“U” Kendrick Lamar 2015

“U” by Kendrick Lamar describes his severe depression, with “U” referring to himself. Kendrick talks about himself throughout the song and how strongly he dislikes himself. He talks about emotions that he’s held back. In the music, he makes it sound as if he is holding back his tears. Kendrick shows pain others may be experiencing themselves.

“Purity” A$AP Rocky & Frank Ocean 2018

“Purity” by A$AP Rocky & Frank Ocean talks about going through mental health issues and wanting to find peace of mind. A$AP describes losing relationships with loved ones as the cost of fame and wants to find peace of mind. Throughout the song, they sing about losing people and how it impacts them. This describes mental health issues and how losing loved ones can drag you into depression, and as they say, wanting to find peace of mind.

Many people deal with mental health concerns, and music can help anyone dealing with their own mental health challenges. The issue of mental health matters, because so many people deal with it and don’t know exactly how they can cope when they are going through something difficult in their lives. Finding music that expresses how one is feeling is invaluable. The struggles that artists are going through can make people feel that someone is listening to them. Lyrics can help a person understand that others know these feelings, and they can feel less alone in what they are going through. People struggle with mental health problems in the form of depression and anxiety, which can lead to suicide when a solution can’t be found. No one should feel that they have no one to turn to and that they have nothing to help them, and that’s why I feel that it is good that artists continue to make songs about their struggles and obstacles. Turning to music can benefit someone going through dark times or when they need someone. I believe that artists making music like this should be more normalized and that more artists should create songs that openly express their feelings and struggles.

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Hailey Mathis
Music & Culture IRL

Written by Hailey Mathis

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