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Rapper Big Sean has never hesitated to talk about his mental health struggles. Following the death of his close friend and partner Nipsey Hussle in 2019, Big Sean opened up about how he struggled with depression and anxiety and sought therapy. Now the rap star looks back on the courage it took to speak so openly about his mental health.
In an exclusive clip from ABC News’ All Access interview with Big Sean and Usher, host Linsey Davis asks Big Sean how it felt to address a topic that is “very taboo” in the black community.
Open about therapy and depression
Big Sean explains that that didn’t stop him: “I just shared what was going on in my life. I didn’t realize I was so vulnerable. I didn’t necessarily want to be a spokesperson for mental health,” he says. “I just expressed that I went to therapy and experienced a period of strong ups and downs, a period of depression,” he adds.
The rapper goes into more detail about this difficult chapter of his life: “It felt like I had hit a wall… and I either had to climb over it or it would fall on me and crush me,” he says.
Four years away from music
“I was so focused on my work that I lost touch with the person I was. I think that led to a very deep battle with depression, deeper than I had experienced as a teenager,” the artist reveals. What followed was an arduous journey: “I had to take some time off where the music industry wasn’t my first commitment, and I had to put myself first,” he says. The rapper allowed four years to pass between 2020’s “Detroit 2” and his most recent album, “Better Me Than You.”
While Big Sean put music aside, he also took “time to have fun.” “You have to be serious about having fun because as quickly as time goes by, we are only here for a limited time,” he says with a laugh.
New priorities after the crisis
This is one of the “many lessons” he learned during this phase: “I’m just happy to be here and enjoying my life,” he says.
The full “All Access” interview with Usher and Big Sean can be seen streaming tonight on “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis” at 7 p.m. ET.
