Any kind of effort to help end the stigma around mental illness is an important. Jamal Edwards, founder of SBTV, recently talked to small artists and employees of the music industry about their own experiences with mental health. In this 20-minute documentary, Edwards explores the impacts of the Internet and mental health on up-an-coming artists in the music business.
SBTV was founded in 2006 by Jamal Edwards. It began as a Youtube channel in which Edwards would post videos of his own raps and music videos. SBTV has grown into a multi-media company centered around underground and urban British hip-hop and rap music. Edwards has since worked with brands like Burberry and Puma, presented at the children’s BAFTAs, started a record company, released an e-book, and worked with the Royal Family.
On November 13, 2017, Edwards uploaded a video to the SBTV Youtube channel titled “Jamal Edwards explores mental health in the music industry.” In it, Edwards talks to an artist manager, three artists, a cognitive neuroscience professor, and a meditation instructor to learn more about the issue of mental illness in young people in the music industry. Each person offers unique insight into the stigma around mental illness today and what we can do to change it.
Majority of the interviewees talked about how social media can be damaging to an artist’s mental health. Many of these artists must keep up a certain kind of image. Talking about their own struggles may hurt that image. Despa Robinson, an artist manager, says that he sees things people go through that nobody else gets to see.
“It’s kind of like the backstory behind what you see isn’t always glossy,” Robinson said.
Next, Edwards talked to Sasha Keable, a singer who suffers from depression and anxiety. Keable details her lifetime struggles with mental illness in an Instagram post. However, the pressures of keeping up an image on Instagram became too much. She ended up completely backing away from social media.
The same goes for Cleopatra Humphrey, who had to step away from the music industry as a whole after receiving abuse and hate online. Online hate is not only a problem in the music industry. People seem to be more comfortable with being mean to others on the Internet without realizing the damaging and lasting effects that the abuse can have on the receiver.
Edwards then talked to an artist who goes simply by the name Dave. Dave uses his mental illness as inspiration for his music and his music as an outlet for his inspiration. Edwards says at the beginning of the video that musicians are three times more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than the general public. According to Dave, music is thing that makes him excited and helps him to stay away from negative thoughts.
“One of things that actually overcomes having a negative thing on your mind when you wake up is having something that you want to do,” Dave said.
To me, the most powerful part of the documentary was when Jamal visited Dr. Sarah Jayne Blakemore, a professor of cognitive neuroscience. She said that mental illness is not much different than physical illness, which is not a common thought.
“People have very little control over them and they are happening at a physical level in their brain,” Blakemore said.
This is important because oftentimes, mental illness can be physically debilitating. If you had to call in sick to work, which would sound better to your boss, “I’ve been throwing up since 2am” or “My depression is preventing me from getting out of bed?” That reason alone is why speaking about mental illness and working to end the stigma is so important.
Edwards end the video by going to a meditation instructor to learn more about taking care of own mental health like we would our physical health. I’ve tried yoga, meditation, and mindfulness before. Let’s just say it’s not for more. But, to each their own.
This documentary offers viewpoints about mental health and the music industry that would otherwise be overlooked if it weren’t for Jamal Edwards. It’s only 20 minutes but it’s very impactful. I would highly recommend this documentary in an effort to spread awareness and end the stigma.
Scatter Brain 