Wale opens up about battle with depression
Rapper Wale is opening up about his battle with depression, confessing he relied on drugs and alcohol to deal with a number of major struggles he's dealt with over the past few years.
The Pretty Girls hitmaker is preparing to release his new record, The Album About Nothing, on Tuesday (31Mar15), but the tracks on the album delve into some of Wale's darkest secrets.
In a candid interview with Billboard, Wale admits he feels a lack
of respect by most people in the industry, including fans and
critics alike, who aren't hesitant to speak their mind.
He says, "I grew up with the outside world meaning the most to me.
This is in hindsight - I'm trying to figure out why I'm this way. I
rely on the people's opinions, because I don't have much outside of
that.
"I constantly work my a** off and I'm not in these magazines - all
I can go by is the people and what they say... So what do you do
when you're busting your a** and taking pills to stay up and be
able to provide the right energy, and you're not seeing the proper
response?...
He adds, "My confidence was shot, so I'd be taking whatever to keep
me in a good mood, to get me in the right mood for an interview.
I'm not going into the details as to what I was taking, but there's
definitely something for that... Or something you can pour in your
glass.
"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."
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
visualising 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..."