Mental Health Doesn't Discriminate feat. Lil Wayne - Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho

[Music] how i know i had mental health problems was i pulled the trigger you actually pulled the trick welcome to uncomfortable conversations with emmanuel acho now i know most of y'all know this series is a dialogue around race a much needed dialogue but there are a lot of conversations that also need to be had around mental health now simone biles and naomi osaka young global superstars they brought this conversation to the world stage at the most recent olympic games so i'm privileged to be joined by someone who knows all there is to know about being a young global superstar five-time grammy award winner but for the sake of this conversation just a man who struggled with mental health wayne what's up bro what up man how you doing oh good oh thank you man the honor and the pleasure and the privilege is mine i gotta preface with this because what they don't know is that we don't actually have a relationship a long-standing relationship i know you watched the sports show but then i got a text less than a week ago um from you and you like hey let me know when you have five minutes i call you and you said i wanted to talk why you want to be here today figuring i can help hoping i can help anyone else out there who's dealing with any mental health problems i just like you said earlier about being vulnerable but uh to me i look at it by being brave and stepping up when did you check the temperature of yourself when did you realize you know what i might have some mental health issues that i have to work through oh i realized that at a very young age dudes when would you say they started 13 14. uh young yeah as a kid around 10. being feeling like you when i when i when i was told that i couldn't have what i wanted what i dreamed of and what i desired and that was to rap i was willing to die for it so many people they don't know how to classify it mental health can play itself out as you know better than i is physical pain it can play itself out as body aches the world hasn't properly responded to mental health so what was the moment that you realized oh no this is this is a mental health issue once my thoughts turned to once my thoughts got radical and got you know to where you got to stop yourself and stop and pause and say what did you just think again or even if even if you cried yourself to sleep with that thought on your mind and wake up the next day and be like i cannot believe i was thinking like that bob's like what that's like killing me so you thought about you thought about killing yourself well i cho when i was [Music] when i was 12 years old school year was kind of ending so what the school was doing was they was giving us half days on the thursday and friday i got it maybe been on wednesday as well but what i would do was just tell moms that i only had a half a day on one of those days so therefore i stayed out the rest of the whole day just like it was a full day she found out and so when i got home on that thing it was that friday whatever i got home got a phone call from my aunt it was like she found out boy you bout to get your ass kicking all that rapping and all that she about to take that rap photo she might throw that [ __ ] away she brought her and i was like wow so all i had built up to me so that was a build up i i just listened to her listen to my eye like i hear you hey cause she was you know [ __ ] boy you better get your ass when she get home your mama take it so she actually said she was like she's taking off hung up the phone thoughts everywhere you know thoughts everywhere main thought was i'm gonna show you main thought was i'm gonna show you what were you gonna show her so i picked up the phone i called the police yes i knew where she kept her gun and it was in our bedroom and so i went in the bedroom grabbed the gun i already made the phone call looked in the mirror and did like that of course it was like oh you know the guy looked too scared that was my head like no no but then i said [ __ ] it biggie was on youtube i'm looking in the mirror so you could look through the mirror and the television was behind me so i was watching the video through the mirror uh one more chance was on and i think baby was already gone or something so i was just looking and i was like you know what start thinking again i had to get myself mad and notice that i didn't have to that's what scared me how i knew i had mental health problems was i pulled the trigger you actually pulled the trigger yeah i before the trick where'd you where'd you shoot in my chest didn't feel the aim from my heart and didn't feel a thing though so i wasn't going through any pain it was a shock i woke up to zoom to the police knocking and i was that's what woke me up mind you the walls the ceilings and the walls are white like this so when you're you know i'm on my back when you're looking up it's probably my eyes probably open the whole time i didn't know i probably had to click and click as a kid all you remember is you see the when you die you're going to see the white and you're going to have water with the white the last one of god i did and so then that's when i with that knocking woke me up out of that the knock know what they kept up but then they stopped and once they stop knocking and say okay they must have left it it took too long it took too long for it meaning that death took too long so i was still just laying there i didn't feel the thing i said [ __ ] i might as i said i'm here for a reason had on like my little school shirt so therefore it was cotton we had wood floors so i'm saying that to say because of the blood was pouring out of my chest so much that it made it easy for me to slide with my shirt and the wood across the floor i made it all the way there only energy i had left was to kick the door kick the door i started hearing them go crazy like someone's in there someone's in there so when they start knocking the door though i'm right under the door i'm like well [ __ ] they gonna kill me with the door and so when they knocked the door that's when i found out my first time finding out what off the hinges or hinges is because they knocked it off the hinges and so they picked it up they saw me they as in the cops they saw him he just jumped clean over me and went through the house talking about i said i found the drugs i found a gun i found it i said what's i'm doing all that and so it took a guy named uncle bob and he he ran up there when he got to the top of the steps and saw me there he refused to even step over me one of them yelled like i got the drugs and that's when he went crazy he was like i don't give a [ __ ] about no drugs he like do you not see the baby on the ground and i found it i kept trying i was spitting all in his face blood everything all i kept was trying all i was trying to tell him i'm not a baby because he kept do you not see the [ __ ] baby on the ground with this hole in his chest he's screaming at him and it was like i guess i didn't know he was so they might he must have been the share of a ball because they all came out the other rooms like oh sorry boss um we called down below he's like i don't give a [ __ ] do you like it so you call like one of them names last night your car now pick me up bought me and just kept telling me some [ __ ] like you're not gonna die on me you're not gonna die me the whole time the whole time i am trying to tell him i'm not a baby that's what i told him for 30 minutes straight and so he got me to the hospital he bought me that he never you know he never even checked he just left me made sure i was good i met him years later but he was like uh he was like i don't know just like i just wanted to say i'm happy to see that i saved the life that mattered what would you say kept you alive that day in that moment god plain and sinful planning something break this down for me because i've never and i couldn't walk a step let alone a mile in your shoes why did you feel the need to be so extreme for those that are battling mental health issues it appears that you trying to take your life was really just a cry for help could you not use your words were you tired of using your words were your words not gonna get the point across the words won't even be able to be said unable to be spoken you don't my mom the way she was then you don't speak in that ladies you don't you don't speak about you don't tell how you your opinion what i wish i'm from one of them family well you know your mama kicked ass and straight up and you don't talk back and you know you feel what i feel and none of that that didn't go yeah and also i had no father my father wasn't around so my mom definitely felt that she had to wear the pants and you know she had to be the dad and the mom so she was a little extra on everything she had just to make sure she got a point across and make sure i ain't trying to run over her and so again words the only that was again the loneliness so you have one you have no one to vent to no one to get this out to you can't bring it to your friends at school you're still trying to be cool to them you're not you're not trying to let them know that i got something going on at home so what i never said was so the mom that i knew before that day on my life and everyone's life in here have never met or seen or heard that lady again in my life so i didn't die that day but somebody was gone from she's never been that way so as far as the parents out there obviously that was an eye opener for her and when she what she decided to do was i let my flower grow got you so that incident changed everything changed life for her i and our whole family man well i appreciate one the vulnerability bro i appreciate the bravery i appreciate the transparency i appreciate the honesty because i can't imagine how hard that must have been let's let's transition down the timeline of your life because i was 12 by 18 19 20 21 you were now a mega star that's when your boy fell in love with your work appreciate that um as you got more popular as you got more loved did the mental health issues go away it didn't go away but they came in a different they came and obviously they couldn't they come at a different uh in a different way because of that the maturity so of course they're gonna hit different they're gonna actually hit harder how so because what can truly hit harder than an individual wanting to take their life the thought now that thought never came other than that man just being alone all the time you know being my grandmother raised me rest in peace mercedes carter she raised me so with that with that i always had time to myself i'm always in the back room somewhere along with myself and too much time to think too much time to thinking too much time to compare how could you be that popular but still feel alone when i say alone i mean again when those doors closed i know you know when the lights come after the thank you you gotta think the homies then you get to the bus and then you know y'all boys good luck you know like whatever whatever and then the doors closed [Music] and there's nobody that there's nobody no no no no you and then again you create these things and yeah again it's mental health because none of these none of these perspectives or none of these opinions or decisions or things you're thinking or thoughts may be true at all it's what you create in here because of your situation and again so you start to think well who do anyone actually care will it will it matter when it's all over will i matter and that's what that that was that's always that's always the question well will you matter when it's all over you will you matter not the things you've done the things you've done for for everyone else but will you actually matter to them but most of all too at the height of you being a star what was the lowest point of your career not being able it's a good question when i was going through the situation with my record label and it wouldn't put my wouldn't allow me to put an album out of put any music out so that's so when you compare that to whatever my mental problem my problem was back then it was because i wasn't being allowed to do just to just need to be productive and be creative and to feel that i would love to do so so as an adult the lowest point of your career was your label not letting you put music out how bad did that hurt you what did that do to you mentally my reaction to my actions that i wanted to take was quit i want to retire now when you were 12 the thought of not being able to do music led to self-harm but now when you were closer to what would have been 32 you had a healthier response of course to not being able to do music yeah how or why were you able to have a healthier response when you know like i know that this is a dream again i could never be too greedy so i started looking at it that way like you know what this is of course i was this is just sign this all it is it's just signs and that you've done enough you've been blessed over blessed and so you know i mean that that's it you walked in from the from the moment we dapped each other up you're in a good mood where are you now with your mental health are you happy with where you are now actually i'm so happy i'm so happy thank god it's only because it's simply because of being able to do what i love and that's be productive and put some music out and help some people put music out and help people along the way that's what i love that's who i am i guess um simple um cliche that's what i was born to be what do you do bro on a daily basis is there anything outside of music to make sure you stay in check is it therapy is it meditation is it prayer what do you do to make sure you stay happy with where you are i pray every single day at night i think i've said that a zillion times already since we [ __ ] i pray a lot that comes from my grandmother and you know she just made me you're gonna pray regardless and even if you don't know it you're too young to know what you're praying for you're gonna pray what do you wish people knew about mental health what i wish they knew is that it's real that is real and there is no there is no bar to measure how real it's real and so it's so real that if someone say if someone even have the the guts the heart the bravery whatever to at least admit to admit that they have something going on up there that they're not sure about it's so real that we should we should only react in a real the realest way possible we should remember it's not considered and if you are a parent of a kid with with a mental health problem or something you think like i say even if you think react with the realest reaction i ain't saying be like my mom but all i know is from that day from that day forward i had i've never seen or met that lady again that was the realest reaction she could get what would be adult lil wayne say to the 12 year old young man before he tried to pull the trigger and end his life what would you say to that young man i always think about what i would tell him or not the answers always comes out to be the same thing and it it's always a question and the question it always is what if that isn't the wall or the ceiling that you you're seeing what if those what if man wayne i appreciate the authenticity bro i appreciate you uh being vulnerable enough to share i appreciate you like they don't know just calling me and saying hey i want to talk yeah and i'm just glad that i could be the ears to listen to you man i appreciate you for real of course and i my everything you're doing for real man thank you all for tuning in to a another episode of uncomfortable conversations with emmanuel acho mental health issues mental health struggles they don't discriminate based upon race black nor white man nor woman famous nor anonymous so make sure we take care of one another but more importantly make sure you take care of yourself we'll see you next time you

Channel: Emmanuel Acho

Views: 3,441,749

Rating: 4.952374 out of 5

Keywords: Emmanuel Acho, Lil Wayne, Tha Carter, Uncomfortable Conversations, Uncomfortable Convos, Uncomfortable Conversations with Emmanuel Acho, mental health, depression, anxiety, suicide, therapy, struggling, Acho, naomi osaka, simone biles, mental health matters

Id: H_iKNketUXI

Length: 17min 24sec (1044 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 15 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/PancakeMaster24]

Wayne sounds really clear in this interview

I thought it was super powerful to have this megastar GOAT rapper like Lil Wayne talk about his suicide attempt and other mental health problems he’s gone through. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve come or how popular you are, you still need to always take care of your mental health just as much as your physical health

Stay healthy fams

[u/Jroiiia423]

Wow he finally was able to give us the story on what really went down that night. Wayne seems like he is in a good place right now.

I hope we get some new music soon cus he been killing his features

Edit: I realize he already told us what happened a few different times and gave us different stories but this looks like Wayne ready mentally to talk about it and not be embarrassed..

Sad to see him think that’s the only option and seem proud of it imo the way he said his mom never was the same person again and he pretty much got what he wanted with such extreme actions because she wouldn’t listen to him.

[u/SmellyPetunias]

We need more public figure heads like this, especially people of color, to make having these conversations normal. The lack of accessible and affordable mental health care is astounding. I think this was a fantastic interview.

[u/FuriousLamb3]

One of the best Wayne interviews ever. Would highly recommend "Let It All Work Out" off C5, which is also about his suicide attempt.

[u/Trzy]

Lil Wayne is one of the most influential artists of all time. A lot of musicians of today and yesterday wouldn’t be here if not for his career. I’m excited to see this video.

[u/HouseAr]

Makes a lot of sense as to why he is always mentioning a Mirror in his raps. Starring into a mirror when shooting himself left a huge impression

[u/john1green]

Lil Wayne - open letter

[u/erizzluh]

i hope some kid doesn't see this video and take away the wrong message that they gotta do something extreme to make their parents change the way they treat em

[u/damng1]

This interview is really good! Wayne went through a lot of issues, and he sounds super clear in this interview as well!!