There are certain songs that just stick in the back of your mind. I will never forget “Suicidal Thoughts” by Biggie Smalls. It completely messed my mind up! Not only from the completely vivid storytelling skills (yes, Biggie is one of the best story tellers in hip hop — but that debate is for another post), but also for the fact that his sincerity made it feel as though he actually did it at the end of the song. This song made me realize something. It made me realize that even successful artists can still have thoughts of ending their lives.
Within the rock genre, it was common to hear of suicides from self-inflicted actions or overdoses. However, you don’t hear about it much within the hip hip realm. In the past, we only heard of Bushwick Bill attempting suicide. In the past year, however, the hip hop culture has lost Don Cornelius, Chris Lighty and more recently Capital Steez and Freddy E to suicide. For the sake of the article, I will keep it on point of dealing with rappers though.
At what point does an artist’s bars stop being lyrical and become lethal? Can an artist’s bars of pain become the fans’ amusement? I remember people telling me that when Eminem got clean, he became “lame” and “boring” to them. We even saw how people enjoyed the train wreck that Amy Winehouse rode until her death. Have hip hop fans put the artists in an awkward position?
On the other hand, would we be limiting the artists? Biggie did die, but it wasn’t from suicide. He went on to make another album and seemed happy (for the most part). Many hip hop artists write what they feel, because their fans feel or are going through those experiences. Sometimes, the transparency of talking about suicide can help people with the problem. Also, speaking on certain taboo topics simply reflect the concept of the song.
Regardless of any opinions, no one should ever end their own life. As fans, we should understand that artists are real people. We should never provoke artists to continue to “walk on the dark side,” when we see that they need help. At the end of the day, we never want an artist to feel like it’s “the end.” Spread The Soup!
aye dont wanna be a conpiracy theorist but its odd that joey badA$$ is getting signed to Roc nation right after this tragedy yall know where i’m going with this but we see the patterns all the time in the industry.
@honestpolicy WOW! Never thought about that! Something very instresting to like into. Thanks for reading!
How many times has Tyler the Creator contemplated suicide in his rhymes, yet, never gone through with the act.? For some actors suicide is a gimmick or just a topic for a song. If someone really wanted to kill themselves you would probably never know. Case in point being Capital Steez.
@ray Thanks for commenting and reading. Your right. I also spoke on behalf of those artists and spoke on not limiting them. I’m simply asking where do we draw the line. With Freddy E, he was giving a tweet by tweet of what he was doing and many thought that was a gimmick as well.
You cannot truly prevent a person from committing suicide in the same way you cannot dodge rain. If he/she is determined to end their life, ultimately, it is up to them and them alone. You can’t keep your eye on someone all the time. Eventually you have to trust them – which means you might potentially end up with broken trust. I’m pretty sure everyone knows that life isn’t fair.
As far as making hip hop music that can induce or coerce people into becoming suicidal, I simply do not believe that is the case. Same as how playing Call of Duty won’t turn you into a serial killer, music can not affect a human being in such a way. Values and beliefs in song can shape your view of the world, but feelings do not necessarily spread so directly. If you’re listening to depressing music all the time, it’s likely because your depressed. You may not have even been aware you were experiencing those feelings, but the music didn’t make you feel them, it simply brought it out of you.
I think all people enjoy hearing stories of struggles and pain, in some form or another. Like it or not, everyone broods over something at one point or another. Suicide, their money situation, love interest – more often we dwell on the negatives then the positives. I don’t really believe we can change simply because it’s so rooted in our psychology (note, not a professional, just an observation). Art, in this case music with suicidal content, simply reflects this reality – it doesn’t create it.
An interesting thing you noted was that there has indeed been an increase in suicidal content in hip hop music over the last ten years or so. Generally speaking, you didn’t get a ton of 90s rappers talking about killing themselves. Maybe a few lines here or there, but rarely full songs or even album concepts dedicated around it. As to why we have such an increase, there’s likely a hundred reasons stemming from cultures mixing, barriers being broken down, new styles and tastes etc., likely enough to merit its own article.
@caesarwords Thanks for reading and your response! You really broke it down! LOL! I agree with you on many of your points. However, we can help. As fans, we can let them know how much they mean to us and the impact they are creating in our lives. Sometimes, with the way the industry treats the artists, they feel used and abused. Now I know that this doesn’t work for every artists, but we can play a better role and stop using terms like “kill yourself” when we don’t like someone’s music.
Music can help “guide” you into a particular choice. I know various people who make many decisions off of the music that they listen too. Remember the guy who shot the cop after listening to Ice T’s “cop killer”? The root may have been anger, but the song gave him the push.
Once again, love your response and thanks again for reading.