Florida rapper Rod Wave shook the internet after posting a song about suicide and deactivating his social media.
The song was titled “Nirvana.” The title alone is alarming as it references the 90s Silverlake grunge rock group responsible for the song, “Smells Like Teen Smith” and whose lead singer Kurt Cobain died by suicide on April 5th, 1994.
Though the artist has deleted the song, it has survived on YouTube after fans screen recorded it before he deactivated his presence on social media.
Lyrics in the song read like a farewell note to fans:
“If you hearing this it’s too late/ I been writing this since Tuesday/ Today’s Friday that means it’s dooms day/ Tried to fight the pain it ate me alive/ Sade to say I lost the battle, against my mind.”
“You should be happy for me no more suffering/ We all got a day. I guess we see each other then/ I hope that heaven’s real and someday we can reunite/ And don’t be crying for me, I lived a wonderful life.”
The artist posted the song on Friday, December 10th, eerily striking a nerve with concerned fans.
“Told the world how I was feeling/ my worst decision since this fame and all these millions/ they treat my different, tired of fake smiles and broken hearts it’s f### the world/ f### the money, and the cars, the jewelry, and the girls.”
The hardest portion of the song to listen hits at the end. He shares that his depression has been an ongoing experience since his childhood.
“I been this way for a while, lost as a child/Momma always telling me smile, she so in denial/Sick, wishing I had some help/ what the f### make a n#### go off and blast himself.”
Fans took to social media to express their concern.
“Yall Caught On To Rod Wave But Dont Ever Check On Yall Friends…”
Yall Caught On To Rod Wave But Dont Ever Check On Yall Friends…
— 4L 🤾🏾♂️ (@GuhDassHim) December 11, 2021
“Prayers up for ROD WAVE.”
Ppl really be fighting demons everyday
Whole time y’all be 1 call away
& never even check in until you need something
Be the first ones to post RIP
S### gotta change in 22’
Call your ppls & let em know you just love em thru the good & bad
💔💔🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽Prayers up for ROD WAVE
— Rock Ⓥ (@Westcoast_v3gan) December 11, 2021
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 55% of Gen Zers, people born between 1995 and 2010, report that their mental health is less than very good. Things that add to their chronic depression are “school shootings, student debt, joblessness and even politics.”
Also, the access to technology and the internet adds to it.
“Growing up in a hyper-connected world can evoke intense feelings of isolation and loneliness in some youth. It can also fuel a steady drumbeat of negative news stories, a fear of missing out, and shame in falling short of a social media-worthy standard,” the study reports.
Ironically, since Cobain’s death in 1995, there has been a rise in death by suicide — 30% between 2000 and 2016, with a peaking trend in youth deaths in 2017.
Surprisingly, death by suicide for men in 2018 was 3.7 times more than women. The stats are staggering. And what is most pointed to is that Blacks and other people of color have difficulty expressing their depression or even acknowledging it with their peers.
One fan hit it on the nose.
“Rod Wave & Yb constantly cry out for help in their songs & y’all just be bumping, ignoring the cry.
Rod Wave & Yb constantly cry out for help in their songs & y’all just be bumping, ignoring the cry.
— angel💎 (@SincerelyLies) December 11, 2021
We are all hoping that he is around people that love him and give him the support he needs.