Is Rap Bad For Your Mental Health?

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com.

This Week's Subject(s): Mental stability; monsters; racial equality; gender equality

Ask A Rapper: We feel like every time we interview a female rapper, the conversation inevitably turns to the same conversation about how hard it is to be a female rapper. So let's try and stay away from that this time. What we're going to do is just lob a bunch of questions at you that people have emailed us and asked us to ask rappers. It gets thick. Ready? Questions in bold. Go.

Did you know Gucci Mane has allegedly checked into a mental health facility? Charles Hamilton had to get his head checked too. Is it that all rappers are crazy, or does being a rapper inevtiably turn people that way?

Sydnee-Jane: Well, first I'm not a "girl rapper" [laughs]. I am a singer and songwriter who dabbles in hip hop. And wowzahz, no I didn't know about Gucci Mane or Charles Hamiton, but I think I would go crazy too if I had to carry around humongously gaudy heavy "yellow chains" and was the cousin of MC Lyte. Just kidding, MC Lyte's hustle is ridiculous; she gets all the talk-over jobs.

But seriously, it's not just the "rap game" that makes people crazy, it's just the nature of the industry. You brought up a good point, though: Sometimes people choose to be rappers and singers because of their desire to be famous or to attain insane amounts of cash and don't realize the amount of personal sacrifices to be made and that an understanding of the industry is required to succeed.

If we think about it though, many artists go through some point of self-realization after fame where they question themselves and their place in the industry, i.e. Mariah, Michael, Kayne, Tupac, Lauryn, Lupe. Some get lost in the industry and others learn how to work the system. Simple and plain.

Sydnee-Jane, "Ready To Go"