Hip-Hop saves lives.
That’s not just a catchy saying but a true fact according to a study by the British Medical Journal.
According to their research, Logic’s GRAMMY nominated song “1-800-273-8255” has directed thousands of calls to the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and contributed to a reduction of deaths by suicide.
BMJ further suggests that there are some groups of people harder to reach through traditional means, and the song was a great tool to suggest that people call for help.
The title of the song is actually the hotline number for the prevention service.
One part of the survey was having researchers led by Thomas Niederkrotenthaler at the Medical University of Vienna collect data on what were the motivations for people calling the hotline and if the song had any connection.
By looking at Twitter posts around the time of the song release, the MTV Video Music Awards 2017, and Grammy Awards 2018, they gauged impact.
For 34 days, they measured the posts and hits and noticed that there was an extra 9,915 calls to the hotline, totaling a 6.9% increase. They also observed a slight dip in suicides.
The study was not scientific but did have an interesting assessment.
Those who reviewed the findings noted, “the potential population health benefits of working creatively and innovatively with other sectors, such as the music and entertainment industries, to promote new impactful stories of help-seeking that resonate with broad audiences, leave a visible footprint on social media, and are safe in terms of not featuring potentially lethal actions but rather coping and mastery of crisis.”
There you have it Logic … stop threatening to retire. The world needs you.