More and more celebrities are opening up about their battle with depression.
Some have shared how they have dealt with the “silent killer” while others are still working on their mental health.
One person who is using his music to tackle depression is rapper Jesse Molley (24), also known by the name J Molley.
On 11 March, the On Camera rapper will be releasing his album Almost Dead. The title is a representation of his battle with depression and how he is working daily to beta it.
Opening up to his fans, J Molley says he has had a heavy journey with depression, which led to him telling his story of survival.
“To whom it may concern,” he shared on social media.
“Life has become very confusing for me. More and more each day. The deeper I searched the more lost I felt.”
The last album J Molley released was ‘All Is Fair In Love And War’ in 2020 and he explains his short break.
“Many have wondered why I have been away for so long. I have always felt depressed at the door,” he says.
“Letting itself in and out since I was a child. Manifesting itself in different ways, from sadness to anger to extreme violence,” he says.
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J Molley says life has become overwhelming for him.
“Feeling my highs to the extreme and my lowers to the extreme. My best friend and worst enemy. Life had gotten too overwhelming for me. And I had decided to take a break to recollect myself and deal with everything properly," he says.
"I have known defeat, suffering, loss and have found my way of of these depths. Finding myself going through a constant cycle. Subsequently, as difficult as it was at the time, I made the decision to talk about my personal journey in his project in hopes of encouraging others to recognise and seek help," he adds.
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Taking a break was helpful in his attempt to break the cycle of depression and to confront his demons.
“I’m making the album in hopes to help others who are going through similar experiences,” he adds.
“This project was not meant to be the next step in my career," he says.
He also was to break the stigma around mental health within the music.
"I also feel like it is my obligation to provide representation within the entertainment industry for those dealing with similar issues. Whilst I will not address all my issue sin this letter, I will address it in the project. Sometimes a bone gets fractured and we have to go to the doctor to heal. In the same way our thoughts can get broken too."
J Molly encourages those with depression to fight.
"Your illness does not define you, your strength and courage does."
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The Pretoria-born singer and rapper grew his fan base from the internet with his first single reaching 10 000 plays on Soundcloud in a month.
He has previously opened up about his childhood and being homeschooled and how that helped shape his independent thinking.
A few years he shared a tweet about dropping out of school because his family couldn’t afford the exams and were about to lose their house and he needed to man up and helped to raise the money in order to buy it himself.
