Gigi Lamayne speaks up on suicide bid
THE death of friend, confidante and South African hip-hop legend Prokid combined with the effects of her alleged abusive childhood contributed to rapper Gigi Lamayne attempting to take her own life for the fourth time last month.
The rapper, who has Zimbabwean roots, shocked the world of music last month after she tweeted what was assumed to be her date of death, before it was revealed later on that she had tried to take her own life. It was the fourth time that the wordsmith had tried and failed to take her own life, as she battles with depression and other mood disorders.
In an interview with Zalebs, Lamayne revealed that she had grown up in a home where abuse was the order of the day, something that has contributed to her current stare. She fingered her alcoholic father as the cause of much of the disharmony at home.
“I came from a home that was quite destructive, so school was my escape, my father was and still is an alcoholic and was very abusive especially towards my mum, although I’ve grown to love him even more and understand that he was failed by the system,” she revealed.
The rapper revealed that was admitted into a mental institute while she was still in school.
“I had been hit and bullied at school and I couldn’t run home either. In matric, I woke up in the morning and I just couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had a breakdown and got admitted to Akeso Psychiatric Hospital. Luckily, I was able to change schools in the middle of the year. As helpful as that was, it meant I had to work 10 times harder to prove myself and the pupils of the previous school because nobody thought I’d be able to complete my matric. I proved them wrong and got distinctions.”
The rapper revealed the pressure that had been building up on her, leading to her suicide attempt.
“I recently tried to take my life. It was because of a build-up of things in my life, from society pressures to me questioning my existence. I felt like life was a lot. The cyber bullying is something I thought wasn’t getting to me because I’d read things and it wouldn’t get to me but I guess it went in subconsciously,” she said.
Lamayne also revealed how the death of Prokid, who had been her mentor, had pushed her over the edge.
“Pro Kid kind of discovered me before Khuli Chana but we didn’t work out because of management issues. But we remained close, so when he died it triggered the fact of how entertainers are treated in society and how we’re, especially as female artistes, just expected to shake our asses,” she said.
Lamayne also spoke about what she had thought were her final moments while she was in hospital.
“When I was drifting in and out of consciousness, I remember telling my cousin to just let me die. I saw a light and I thought it was hospital lights, but I wasn’t in the ICU so it couldn’t have been hospital lights. I just remember that there was a lot of warmth there, and I wanted to go.”