Wale performing

Rapper Wale is speaking out about his battle with depression. While some of us get the blues on rainy days and Mondays, others suffer with a debilitating, prolonged feeling of utter sadness that affects their activities of daily living and changes their outlook on life.

Unlike the occasional feeling of sadness over life’s disappointments, people who suffer from depression are unable to cope mentally and emotionally. The depression affects the way they think, behave and feel. Depression often ends in suicide when the sufferer thinks all hope is lost.

In an interview with Billboard magazine Wale explained how depression nearly sidetracked his rap career. He documents his battle with depression on his latest album.

“I was depressed not being where I wanna be in my career when I’ve put the work in. I wasn’t sleeping. I was drinking all day and I didn’t have anyone to go to. I couldn’t fight it. Those are some of the demons I talk about on the album.”

Rapper T-Pain also revealed his ongoing struggles with depression.

Depression and narcissism often go hand-in-hand as sufferers realize they are not omnipotent or the center of the universe.

From WENN.com:

While this was going on, he was dealt a few more blows, including his longtime girlfriend’s miscarriage and the death of a close friend.

He reveals, “We tried for a long time to have a child. And when she finally did get pregnant, she miscarried at 10 or 11 weeks. I was visualizing my child’s face. We gave it a name and everything. All of that went away.

“And a couple of months before that, one of my closest friends died in a car accident, a cousin that was there for me through blood, sweat and tears.”

In addition, Wale was dropped from Interscope Records in 2010, and he took it hard when his good friend, hip-hop star Rick Ross, was shot in 2013. The combination of those struggles in addition to online criticisms were ultimately what led to his depression and battle with drugs and alcohol.

He says, “So I go through all that and I go online and some white kid is saying, ‘You dumb n**ger, you’ll never be as good as J. Cole.’ You put all that together…”

More from Sandrarose.com:

  • T-Pain Opens Up About Battle With Depression
  • Medical Minute: Depression
  • Medical Minute: Postpartum Depression
  • Keri Hilson Calls Beyonce ‘Ho’ On Diss Track
  • Photo: Johnny Louis/WENN.com