This past May, rapper of Dej Jam Records, Logic released his third studio album titled “Everybody”. In this album, Logic covered race, religion, social illness and much more, as he tried to break barriers in the rap game. One record on this album has recently landed on the billboard top 100 chart.
Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” collaboration with Khalid and Alessia Cara talks about overcoming depression and suicidal thoughts. The title of the song is the suicide prevention hotline number. The song offers a sense of hope and connection with others; with lyrics such as, "I've been on the low / I been taking my time / I feel like I'm out of my mind / It feel like my life ain't mine / Who can relate?" Logic is bringing awareness to the topic in a different way by motivating people to make calls. He created a song about getting help and finding hope, instead of focusing on a specific event that is a tragedy. Logic is starting conversations about suicide prevention.
In this past VMA, Video Music Awards, he performed the hit song and it delivered a huge impact. At the beginning of the performance, Logic sings the powerful hook around a bunch of mirrors, then is later joined by a full choir, Cara, as well as Khalid as they sing some emotional lyrics. During the show, he is rapping around a group of suicide survivors who battle with issues regarding their mental health, as they wear shirts with the suicide hotline number on it.
According to CNN, calls to suicide prevention hotline spiked after VMA performance. John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, said, "The impact has been pretty extraordinary. On the day the song was released, we had the second-highest call volume in the history of our service." Overall, calls to the hotline are up roughly 33% from this time last year.
Logic himself has dealt with anxiety and depression over the past couple years. In multiple interviews, he admitted he was so focused on making other people happy and lost sight of himself in the process. The tour life, meeting and engaging with fans, and the overall business side of things had a great toll on his mental state.
Logic's album is continuing to promote the talk about mental illness in rap; how money makes things around you better, but can mentally affect people in a major way.
