Big Sean Opens Up on Depression
Big Sean revealed he battled severe depression after Nipsey Hussle's death in 2019, describing how the loss triggered deep mental health struggles. The Detroit rapper emphasized the importance of seeking help and destigmatizing conversations around emotional well-being in hip-hop.
- Before the death of Nipsey Hussle in 2019, Big Sean had already been open about his struggles with mental health, having canceled a tour in 2018 to focus on his well-being after feeling "lost." - He described the period following Hussle's death as hitting a wall, which led to a battle with depression that was deeper than what he had experienced as a teenager. This prompted him to take a four-year hiatus from music to prioritize his mental health. - Big Sean and Nipsey Hussle were friends and collaborators; their Grammy-nominated track "Deep Reverence" was released in 2020, after Hussle's death. - Through his non-profit, the Sean Anderson Foundation, he and his mother, Myra Anderson, launched a video series in May 2021 to provide tools and techniques for managing anxiety and depression. - His foundation has been active in promoting mental wellness for years, hosting events like the "DON Weekend" in his hometown of Detroit, which has included panels on mental health in the Black community. - Big Sean is part of a growing number of artists in the hip-hop community who are speaking out about mental health, including Kid Cudi, Kendrick Lamar, and Chance the Rapper, helping to reduce the stigma in a genre where such topics were often considered taboo.
