According to a survey taken in 2014, by The Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “around 15.7 million adults age 18 or older in the U.S. had experienced at least one major depressive episode in the last year, which represented 6.7 percent of all American adults. That means every 8 out of 100 teens/adults suffer with severe depression throughout their lifetimes.
Depression can affect anyone, and we could hardly ever tell just by looking. Even the untouchable celebrities themselves resort to various means to cope with depression . Some famous A listers that have dealt with depression are Demi Lovato, Britney Spears, the deceased Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobain and more. Yet we rarely hear about the battles with depression until it's too late. But the signs are there, in their behaviors, in their appearance and for musicians, in the lyrics.
One person that has always been vocal with his ongoing battle against depression is Kid Cudi. From his mixtape “A Kid Named Cudi” up until his latest release “ A Speeding Bullet 2 Heaven” , Cudi has taken the front lines in facing his bouts with depression, but more importantly inspiring the millions across the world to not give up. To this date, Kid Cudi has been one of the only advocates in the hip-hop community to be open about his struggles against depression. Why is that?
In his song “Don't Play This Song” Cudi writes “Pain, hurt, sadness and loneliness/Bottle that shit right up/Tossed it away to the bottomless/Pit, the part of my mind that slips/The part of my mind so sick/I don't even like to take that trip”. In reference to these lyrics, Cudi would deal with his depression with the most common uses : drugs, alcohol and sex. This is a common trend amongst men, especially African American men , in order to numb the pain that comes from depression. It is an unspeakable pain, that is mostly looked down upon or simply ignored.
There is a stigma that revolves around African American men and depression, but as always Kid Cudi refused to conform. Instead keeping his issue a secret like most people, Kid Cudi used his artistic talents to paint a realistic descriptive imagery of what depression is like as both a warning and a plea for help.
In his 2009 hit “Down and Out” Kid Cudi raps “Such bullshit that my soul deal wit/When my room's dim lit/I pray to God help with, uh/Now do you want to be him?/Think twice, you commit suicide trying' to read my mind”. It is through these lyrics can we see the painful and withering effects of depression. Yet why is it only now in 2016 that the males in the African American community made the conscious choice to speak about their own personal bouts with depression? it is because Kid Cudi finally admitted the truth. He is losing his battle against depression.
On October 4th, 2016 at 10:17pm, Kid Cudi revealed that he has gone to rehab to take back control of his life so he does not lose the fight for good. This was a brave act, and in typical Cudi fashion, it inspired the world. Millions of people all over shared their support for Kid Cudi’s decision but something more important happened. In the depths of the African American community, men began revealing their own personal bouts against depression.
The people picked up exactly where Kid Cudi left out, reminding each other that it's ok to deal with depression and they're not alone. With the recent struggles of dealing with the difficulty of living as a black man in the 21st century, depression is another hardship not just for Kid Cudi, but for all African American males to overcome. Kid Cudi made the first step, the hardest one, which is admitting that there is a problem and he needs help. With this courageous act, Kid Cudi has allowed everyone else to pick up where he left off in the battle against depression.
