16 Grammy’s and certainly more to come. Kendrick Lamar, an icon in the world of rap music, won best album again for ‘Mr Morale & the Big Steppers.’
Totally deserving his multiple wins, Lamar’s music has always been brutally honest and reflective not only of his life coming from the poorer side of downtown LA, but also the effects it has on his mental health.
Lamar’ music is intentionally healing.
“How can I use it [my leadership]? For better or for worse?” “Money or celebrity, how can I use it? How can I pimp it? Can I pimp it negatively, or can I pimp it in a positive way? Positive for me is showing what I go through, what I’ve been through … but that I still love myself at the end of the day.”
Some years ago Lamar shared with MTV that he was struggling with survivor guilt that led to depression and suicidal thoughts. He had lost some close buddies in the rough side of his hometown.
“Psychologically it messes your brain up. You living this life, you know what i’m saying, but you still have to face the realities of this … I gotta get back off that tour bus and go to these funerals,”
It took a while for Lamar to seek therapy as he grew up in a household where generations before that, seeking therapy was never heard of.
“We grew up where our parents don’t know about that”
“Our grandparents don’t know about that. You live and you experience the s### that you go through and you deal with it right then and there. Or you don’t never deal with it.”
“We learn to hold all our s### in. S###, I’ma keep it 100 with you – that wasn’t my forte when people mentioned it to me. I’m still stuck how my pops think. ‘The f### I need therapy for?’
To challenge myself to go to therapy, s###, that’s like a whole new step in a whole new generation. That’s growth.”
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