Caribbean artistes focus on MENTAL HEALTH

Trinidad and Tobago-based recording artiste Kalpee is seeking to increase awareness on the issue of men’s mental health in the Caribbean region.

He is joined by a host of artistes and producers from the region, including

Walshy Fire, IzyBeats and Jamaican dancehall artistes Bling- Dawg and Vyzadon. With the suicide rate among young black men in the West Indies rising, these young men are leading the conversation as they talk openly about their experiences to both local and international audiences.

This outreach is specifically shaped around the male perspective within the Caribbean community. Kalpee shared that, in late 2019, he had a serious accident in his homeland that nearly killed him.

“Since that day, knowing that I had been given a second chance, I realised that I had a responsibility to make each day count, not only to myself but also to those that saved my life. The most difficult part of recovering from the accident was not the physical injuries that were evident to all, but my mental state of mind. As mental health amongst men is not spoken about in the Caribbean, I didn’t even realise that I needed support, which made my days challenging. As the scars healed, I was expected to just get on with it,” he said. “I think, in the Caribbean, mental health is still a relatively new topic. The younger generations, because of social media, are more open to discussing it, which is amazing. But there is so much educating that needs to be done when it comes to not only mental health, but in general how we view acceptance in the Caribbean.”

Bling Dawg, who has placed his physical health as a priority, agreed that there needs to be more communication on issues of mental health.

“For my mental health, I work out, focus on the things in my reach, and take it step by step to progress in life each day. We need to communicate more with each other to help each other,” he said.