I have a shaman I send artists to and a lot of them keep going to her,” she says. Whether it’s the belief that rappers should behave badly or simply mismanagement from an inexperienced team that doesn’t know where to get resources, there is often a code of silence and complacency. Atlanta rapper B.o.B. This lifestyle actually makes me very uncomfortable. “These are guys who would have never gone to a shaman or a therapist because it’s not a part of how they grew up or acceptable.”In many respects, rappers still come from the same “jungle.” They are predominantly young Black and Brown men that face systematic issues: socioeconomic disparity, violence, broken families, incarceration and addiction. “Don’t push me ’cause I’m close to the edge/I’m trying not to lose my head/It’s like a jungle some- times/It makes me wonder how I keep from goin’ under...” In 1982, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five lamented about the malaises of life on “The Message.”Hamilton explains that his official diagnosis as bipolar came in 2010. To awaken people’s empathy without pity, she can serve as a mirror that reflects when someone experiences a similar feeling or a window to show what people with bipolar go through.When Kanye West hit his stride back in 2007, people perceived the well-respected rapper’s outlandish comments and behaviors as part of his schtick.“Mental illness is not an excuse, but it is a reason,” she says. Since West is too big for the media to ignore, conversations surrounding his behavior need to also include mental health and bipolar disorder because of West’s openness about his diagnosis, she says.Some people perceive that West has access to top-notch medical treatment but doesn’t utilize it, which sparks resentment, she says. The notion of holding West accountable for his actions during manic episodes puzzles her because his mental illness impacts the way he behaves and thinks.Ikpi says her level of privilege allows her to be vulnerable and transparent about her mental illness, which isn’t the case for everyone. “These are guys who would have never gone to a shaman or a therapist because it’s not a part of how they grew up or acceptable.”“I think we’ve come a long way,” says Dr. Watkins.
“I am a survivor.” For Mensa, he takes his demons day-by-day.
It’s a lifelong process that goes beyond album artwork or a TV show. “So many challenges that are dealt with in communities across the country—racism and oppression and sexism. People get stuck on textbook definitions of mental illnesses and use them to determine whether someone deserves empathy, she says.In 2018, West revealed he has a mental illness. Neglecting to look at the complete picture isn’t fair to West — nor to anyone else.People speak about West in unkind, graceless ways that lack empathy and justify it because they disagree with what he’s saying, she says. “Everybody would be freaking out and having an intervention. The work I’m doing is changing the narrative around men and mental health.”So, what happens when an angry, young man with abandonment issues becomes a rap star? Kanye West has chosen the Cody, Wyoming-based “biblical life coach” Michelle Tidball to be his vice president, someone who believes mental illness can be treated by doing chores. “People assume celebrities don’t make mistakes, [that] they don’t suffer from depression, anxiety or bipolar [disorder]. “It’s something I still deal with, you know, because the show don’t stop.”Frazier has seen more artists warming up to mental wellness, even seeking treatments beyond Western medicine.