AKA thanks Ye for ‘saving his life’, reveals clinical depression diagnosis
AKA says people going through something similar need to keep the faith: 'To anybody reading this just hang in there...Trust me.'
Rapper AKA shares his mental health struggles. Picture: Instagram
Rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes has disclosed that he has been battling clinical depression since his late fiancée Anele Tembe’s death in April.
He shared on his Instagram stories over the weekend that US rapper and producer Ye, formerly Kanye West, had saved his life multiple times and thanked him for that.
AKA selected the song No Child Left Behind from Ye’s DONDA album to share how he was feeling.
He wrote: ” F**k it…I need to let this to be known. Especially [with] so many people fighting every day.
“I was diagnosed with clinical depression many months ago.”
The Tears Run Dry artist said he was put on medication after his diagnosis and shared a picture of his pills.
However, the star said he stopped taking them because they made him feel numb and defeated the purpose of him feeling his feelings.
AKA said people going through something similar needed to keep the faith.
“To anybody reading this just hang in there…Trust me.”
Remembering Tembe’s birthday in October and her life, AKA made a tribute song.
In the single, Tears Run Dry, AKA expresses how he has been struggling to sleep because he has dreams and visions of his late fiancée, and he talks about the life he was looking forward to living with Tembe and all the plans they made together.
RELATED: Fans react to AKA’s emotional ‘Tears Run Dry’ song, dedicated to his late fiancée
The rapper lost Tembe after she tragically fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town. He took some time off after her passing and returned with new music and collaborations with the likes of Costa Titch.
AKA recently marked 10 years since his first album Altar Ego was released, which had hits such as Victory Lap. However, the artist says the album wasn’t up to par.
“Hmmm, dunno how I feel about this one. Personally… I think it’s weak. I hate how my voice [and] my character sounds. Still some solid cuts on this jawn tho [sic]. Also, I made this album when I didn’t have any real bread… that’s why I’m spitting so hard on Victory Lap for example… My tone is so aggressive throughout this project, you can hear I don’t have money yet…”
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