While struggles with trauma and "so much trouble on my mind" - to quote LL Cool J - have been on tape all along for countless rappers, Black artists have not been given the same latitude as white ones like Eminem. The first time, she told Black Doctor, she "didn’t believe" it, thinking "ADHD was just something they invented to make you pay for medicine." Solange Knowles has been diagnosed with ADHD twice. "ĭoja Cat recently revealed struggles with ADHD in a Rolling Stone story, which led her to drop out of high school amidst "a period of artistic awakening" when she found her longtime producer, Yeti Beats. (This is likely even more true of Black girls and women, some studies and articles suggest.) Like Minaj, some Black female artists are now opening up about their experiences with ADHD - one of several conditions including dyslexia and autism sometimes referred to as " neurodivergent. Yet Black Americans have been historically underdiagnosed and therapeutic supports undermined by racial bias. Me too! Lol."ĪDHD has been overdiagnosed in the past, and its potentially risky, stimulant-heavy medications overprescribed. "I may have to sit here and read this book five times." Singer Tyrese Gibson responded, "Champ that’s called ADD or ADHD most creatives have it bad…. The rapper and mogul Diddy opened up about struggling to focus in a 2018 Instagram video: "Sometimes my brain can go in different directions," hesaid. " "I should win a f- award for being me." Will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, describes his tunes as the "most ADHD songs ever." "I suffer from ADHD," Tyler, the Creator spits on " Odd Toddlers. This includes the first rapper to win a GRAMMY, Will Smith, and a beloved track on Kendrick Lamar’s debut album. Hip-hop stars who have reckoned with ADHD - whether creatively, IRL or both - are legion. While estimates vary and good data can be years old, the best numbers suggest that 6.1 million children (about 9.4 percent) plus 10.5 million adults (about 4.4 percent) have ADHD in the United States alone. There are signs, however, that the nation, music industry and artists are responding, including the recent launch of a nationwide 9-8-8 crisis line, a Hip-Hop & Mental Health panel at the GRAMMY Museum, and a new mental health partnership between LL Cool J and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child.ĭespite lists of rap songs that address mental health, t he popularity of the genre and the prevalence of ADHD, little media attention has been paid to hip-hop and ADHD. Yet until recently ADHD, and other mental health struggles, were considered too shameful to talk about.Īmericans' mental health struggles have become more pressing since the pandemic. Minaj’s tweet, to 25 million followers, can be seen as yet another dot in ADHD’s long and winding history in hip-hop - the four letters forming a kind of through line in the music over the years. You’re asked 1 question & go off on a tangent about 5 diff things b4 you answer the 1st question." "Honestly, I think it’s one of the many embarrassing signs of ADHD," she added. "I have a difficult time getting out what I have to say," the rapper wrote. While tweeting about an interview last March, Nicki Minaj seemed to confess that she has ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
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