Can hip-hop help treat mental illness? UK researches think so.
Becky Inkster and Akeem Sule have formed Hip Hop Psyche, their attempt at combating schizophrenia and depression with the power of rhymes.
"The group says that hip-hop provides individuals with a sense of empowerment and self-knowledge that could be exploited to help people tackle their own psychological problems," The Guardian reports. "There is an intrinsic awareness of issues connected with mental health in many forms of hip-hop art, it is argued."
Inkster says the genre is perfectly suited to help those in need.
"There is so much more to hip-hop than the public realises," said Inkster. "I grew up in the 90s during the golden era of hip-hop, when it exploded into mainstream culture. It is rich in references to psychiatric illnesses that have not been properly explored and which could be of enormous benefit to patients. We want to work with rappers, charities, medical groups and others to promote its real potential."
So, how does it work? In one particular method, Inkster and Sule have patients write and rap their own lyrics.
"One technique we want to explore is to get individuals who are seeking therapy to write out where they see themselves in a year or two and to use rap lyrics to outline their future histories," Inkster said.
"Many key rappers and hip-hop artists come from deprived urban areas which are often hotbeds for problems such as drug abuse, domestic violence and poverty, which are in turn linked to increased occurrences of psychiatric illnesses. These problems are rooted in their language and in their songs."
Apparently, Inkster was not completely happy with The Guardian's choice of examples, though. The story included lyrics from Pharrell's "Happy," which could be damaging to the street cred of an organization that's trying to prove its wealth of hip-hop knowledge.
Here's a recent statement from the organization's website:
We really appreciate the coverage and chance to share our vision about mental health and hip-hop, however, we have been misrepresented in terms of our hip-hop credibility. While we appreciate the song Happy by Pharrell Williams, we do not use that song as an example as we feel it represents pop culture and we are keen to dissect hip-hop lyrics as we are incredibly passionate about hip-hop. For example, at our Cambridge Festival of Ideas event 20th October West Road Music Hall, Cambridge, we will be covering such artists as Tupac, Kendrick Lamar and J Cole. We love all kinds of hip-hop artists, not just commercially successful ones. We are trying to correct the misunderstanding made by the Guardian. We respect and are part of the hip-hop community and need to keep it authentic. We want to represent hip-hop and maintain respect from the community that we love so much.
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