The rapper who inspired Logic to speak about mental health: “It’s okay to talk”
In 2017, Logic released a song that dealt with the most delicate, painful of subjects.
‘1-800-273-8255’ spells out what was then the phone number for the American National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The song that bore the number as its title, fittingly, focused on people’s mental health issues and suicidal ideation. It was Logic’s attempt to help.
The song was a powerful one, dealing with a tricky subject that, for all the progress that has been made, remains something of a taboo. A lot of effort has been made in recent years to demystify mental health issues, but there is still a lot more to be done. Logic’s song, though, was an effort in that direction.
Logic has spoken publicly about the inspiration for the song, which came from some of his fans insisting that his music had saved their lives. This affected him profoundly, as he realised the power that he had as an artist. He sought to use it wisely.
But, had it not been for the efforts of another artist, Logic perhaps wouldn’t have had the courage to write a song that so plainly tackles as difficult a subject as suicide. Kid Cudi, though, had been a pioneer in this respect, with his own songs on the subject of mental health helping to drive Logic to venture into that same space.
“That dude inspired me to talk about anxiety or mental health or all these things,” Logic told Zane Lowe in 2018. “He was the dude that was like, ‘It’s okay to be sad, it’s okay to talk about these things and go through these things.’”
Logic had been one of the acts opening for Cudi on tour several years beforehand, in 2013, and he clearly admired him. Cudi’s openness in discussing his own issues was inspirational to Logic, who, in turn, wrote an affecting and powerful track himself.
Following the release of ‘1-800-273-8255,’ the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline announced that it had seen a sharp rise in calls. Their website also received more visits, meaning that Logic’s song had, really, left a powerful impression on people. It is possible that it literally saved lives.
Logic told Zane that he was “so happy” that this song in particular became a hit. He felt it represented his intentions well, showing his listeners that he wanted to spread a “message of peace, love, positivity.” He owed it, at least in part, to the actions of Kid Cudi before him.