I thought I was going to die - Okyeame Kwame on his battle with depression

Ghanaian rapper and songwriter, Okyeame Kwame has revealed how he suffered a mental breakdown and depression seven years ago when he was about to turn 40.

Narrating his experience on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, he recalled how he wrote an article on his blog on GhanaWeb about his fear of the big 40 and how it came to haunt him later.

He said that he felt that his career was about to crash, as he thought that the younger generation of music lovers could not identify with his songs.

His fears further escalated after poor attendance at the launch of a single caused him to break down.

He said that he felt that his career was about to crash, as he thought that the younger generation of music lovers could not identify with his songs.

“I had a mental meltdown. I used to write for GhanaWeb. I had my blog on GhanaWeb and before I turned 40, I wrote an article on my fear of the big 40. All the things that I was afraid of—afraid that my audience was going to grow and enter an age where they would want to listen to Amakye Dede instead of rap and no longer identify with my songs

“And during that period, I remember going to Takoradi to launch a single and nobody came to the event. That night, I cried,” he said.

Okyeame Kwame also recalled how his mental state affected his physical health and how he battled with it for a year.

“I thought so much and worried so much that I destroyed my whole system. I didn't just get depressed. My LDl, which is the bad cholesterol, went up to 4.6 and the threshold is supposed to be 3.0, so it went up to 4.6. I used to wake up every day with headaches. I had angina pains on the left side of my chest, etc. I thought I was going to die and this thing went on for about a year,” he said.

Okyeame Kwame, also known as the Rap Doctor, is one of the pioneers of the hiplife genre in Ghana. He started his career as part of the duo Akyeame, with Okyeame Kofi, and later went solo.

He has released several hit songs, such as "Faithful", "Kpa", and "Woara". He has also won several awards, including the Artist of the Year at the 2009 Ghana Music Awards.

ID/ ADG

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