Hip-hop artists Tupac and Eminem are among the most iconic music artists of the past two decades, and as Dr Akeem Sule and Dr Becky Inkster, co-founders of HIP-HOP-PSYCH, write, their lyrics can provide a valuable insight into the lives of some of the people most at risk of developing mental health issues.
Tupac Shakur and Eminem are often touted as two of the greatest rappers of all time. While Tupac, who was shot dead in 1996, is African American and Eminem is Caucasian, their lyrics have similar narrative story telling styles that are filled with anguished suffering and anger conveyed in their hip-hop songs. The characters they portray in their lyrics are often surrounded by challenging environments – alcohol and drug addiction, parental abuse and gun crime, for example.
Two songs that describe important issues of adversity reflecting strong emotional turmoil in their lyrics are 'Death around the corner' from Tupac Shakur's album, 'Me Against The World,' and 'Cleaning out my closet' by Eminem from his album, 'The Eminem Show.' In both songs, whether knowingly or unwittingly, the artists' characters reveal many of the symptoms of mental illness – and also paint a picture that suggests why these problems have arisen.
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