Aug. 8, 2024

Living the dream with conscious rapper and mental health advocate Rich Vysion

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In this episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, host Curveball delves into the powerful intersection of music and mental health with Bronx-born conscious rapper Rich Vysion. Rich shares his personal mental health journey and how he uses his music to empower others, reminding them of their self-worth and purpose. Learn about his transformative experiences, from facing cyberbullying to overcoming suicidal thoughts, and how these challenges inspired his mission to bridge the gap between music and mental health.
www.richvysion.com
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> Curtis Jackson>Welcome, to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. If you believe you can achieve Chee Chee, welcome to the living a Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today, we're going to be talking about bridging the gap between music and mental health, as I am joined by Bronx born conscious rapper Rich Vision.

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> Curtis Jackson>Rich has went through his own, mental health journey, so what he decided to do is to bridge the gap and connect music and mental health. So we're going to be talking to him about everything that he's up to and his platform and how he's bridging the gap.

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> Curtis Jackson>So, Rich, thank you so much for joining me today.

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> Speaker B>Thank you so much, Curtis, for having me. I really appreciate the honor of sharing my story with your, prestigious audience.

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> Curtis Jackson>Well, why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

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> Speaker B>Yes. to echo what you were saying, curtis, about, me, my mission, really is to bridge the gap between music and mental health, which means that I'm using my music, to be a catalyst for change and to empower, other people, to reclaim, their self worth and, to remind them that there are enough, to be here and, to create, a life of purpose and fulfillment, and also to not resort to suicide, which I have, contemplated several times in the past.

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> Speaker B>I'm also a recording artist, author, spoken word artist, and I use all those, talents, and gifts that I was given by God to, empower those, that are struggling, with their mental health.

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> Curtis Jackson>So tell us about your journey. What made you decide to go on this mission to bridge mental health and music and kind of tell us about your journey that led you to that.

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> Speaker B>A lot of my journey really stemmed from, cyberbullying that I had, ah, faced through, when I was in high school. And when I first started, getting into the music, industry, I started putting my singles out there. I was getting a lot of, criticism that was destructive, and, a couple of people in my, space were criticizing my music harshly, to the point where I was thinking, like, you know, I wasn't enough. So I always equated, my self worth with, mental health after the fact that I realized that I was traumatized by a lot of the destructive comments that they were saying about my music.

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> Speaker B>and then what really got me on fire to actually be a voice for mental health is because there was been times where I would internalize those negative comments to the point where I would contemplate suicide because I didn't think I was enough to be an artist, with the passion to want to empower people with my story and, change people's lives and save people's lives. And, I really came to grips with wanting to, be, that voice for the voiceless.

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> Speaker B>And, a lot of my past has really dictated, me, you know, adhering to those wrong voices. And now being able to, years after, do the inner work and personal development, that I have been doing through the pandemic. It really allowed me to really, shift that narrative of, you know, from being, like, victimized by, you know, those. Those self sabotage. To be victorious was also the reason why I decided to name my book from Victor to Victor, transferring trauma into triumph.

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> Curtis Jackson>So talk about how you came up with the name rich vision.

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> Speaker B>Well, it wasn't all me. the.

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> Speaker B>I had a rebrand with a mentor of mine that helped me in my career for about four years. And her, and I, decided to do a rebrand, because of the fact that I was delving into a more realized version of myself because there was some, baggage that the other rap name had, that came with. It came with a lot of baggage. It came from, you know, a braggadocious side of me that is, was a part of my branding at one point in time. The rap name I had was rich, so fresh. And I equated that to being stylish and fashionable and, things like that. And to be honest, I was to the point where I was phasing that out a bit because I was really evolving into my artistry, you know, being more, intentional about being, a conscious, you know, rapper versus someone who's talking about, you know, what they have and things like that. I felt like that really wasn't fulfilling for me at the time.

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> Speaker B>And me and her decided to, you know, her and I decided to do a rebrand, like, hey, you know, let's do something fresh, let's do something different, because I have a, pilot of new music, with a different sound, with a different message. there's some of my old materials. So we decided, hey, rich vision. My name is Richard, and envision, we were just deciding on powerful words that really, define who I was.

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> Speaker B>I forgot the ones that we, played around with or experimented with. But vision sounded so profound. I was thinking, like, maybe rich visionary. And then we were looking up adjectives and words. And she was like, no, rich vision. Like, that's, you know. And then we made sure that nobody had the name, and we did it with the. With the y, the v y s I o n to really, stand out, you know, make a difference. Also make sure that the name wasn't taken. So we kind of just like. And for me, that meant, like, having the vision to, like, be more. Being meant for more than what I thought I could be.

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> Speaker B>And that really resonated with me a lot to the point where I was like, I felt it in my bones. I just. It gave me chills.

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> Curtis Jackson>Okay, well, tell us about some of the artists that inspire you.

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> Speaker B>Yes, some artists that inspired me. nf he's also a mental health, recording, artists as well in the, I wouldn't say mainstream, but he also has a lot of, mental health, topics that he delves into in his, albums. I love Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole.

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> Speaker B>I love, the lupe fiasco, the comment common, talib kweli. Those artists, I really am inspired by, because they do talk about deep topics in their music. And I always, want to emulate that in the fact that, I want to make sure my music is coming out authentic and speaking about what I've been through. and nothing fabricated. I wanted this to be true to who I am in my music. And those, artists have really been a big inspiration for my music.

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> Curtis Jackson>So tell us about a specific song or project where you directly address mental health and also talk about what you hope that the listeners to that song or project will take away from it.

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> Speaker B>The last project that I dropped was, I'm on the other side of mental abuse. That was a, ep that I dropped last quarter, November 2023. It was a time where I was facing mental, abuse from a mentor of mine.

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> Speaker B>Funny, it was the same mentor that mentored same, mentor, that helped me in my music career was the one that I was going through a mental abuse or deal with, unfortunately. And, so I was just getting out of, that space mentally and figuring out a way to move on from that and move past that and heal from that mental abuse, and, get over the suicidal ideation of that happening. And I started to write about the things that are internalized about her saying, you know, much of God, much of savior and things like that. And it made me feel small and God sighted me m when I wanted to hurt a whole space for me when I was honestly, very depressed. And the reason why I titled it, on the other side of mental abuse, because I wanted to empower people who are facing mental abuse that they have another way out of it. They don't have to stay stuck in it. And there's always, you know, the light at, at the end of a tunnel, so to speak, to the darkness. And, I also realized that by me, you know, speaking about these topics like, like mental abuse and ending the stigma, I realized that my hope is really to empower those people to actually use, their voice, to speak out about these things and not keep it, in like I did, ah, when I was facing my dark times, when I was facing, to the point where I wanted to commit suicide. So I want people to hear the record and remind them that they have a voice and that they don't have to be, shut down. And just because, they're dealing with a narcissist, like, they can overcome any adversity. And that project is something that I hold dear to me because it was something that I was scared to put out there because I didn't want people to know that I was going through mental abuse behind a closed door, because I really didn't think that people would believe me.

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> Speaker B>And, I would hope that people will use that as a catalyst to just normalize mental health and speak about it, because speaking about it is powerful and it helps, really does free, you and other people who have gone through the same demons.

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> Curtis Jackson>So what advice would you give other artists who might want to put mental health in their music?

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> Speaker B>I would say. I would say go for it. Like before, I was very afraid, because I had this notion that I couldn't be considered weak. You know, I would sometimes, you know, I would be called the b word or sensitive and x, y, z, and I just had to shut everything out. I had to shout out the naysayers, haters, if you will, and say, hey, like, mental health is important.

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> Speaker B>I would say speak about it, because if it's something that you're struggling with, nine times out of ten, someone also will resonate with that.

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> Speaker B>also, because, let's face it, like, honestly, you know, mental health is one of the. Even though people may not consider mental health the genre, it is now considered a genre of music.

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> Speaker B>And, it's amazing when people speak about their mental health because it actually normalizes the conversation, and allows more people to actually share their stories as well. So I would say 100% tell your mental health story, because by telling your stories, not only setting you free, it's also allowing other people to step into that healing that they didn't know they needed. Despite you actually speaking about it, they might say, hate a minute, hold up. I didn't know I was going through this, but since you kind of like, alluded to it in your music, a lot of, even when, sometimes when I play a gig, some people are just like, I'm so grateful that you spoke about it in your music. There's no one really talking about it like you do. And I'm like, so grateful to, to receive that compliment.

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> Speaker B>Cause it reminds me I'm doing something that's moving the culture forward, and I'm actually shedding a light to something that people may seem, you know, deem like a taboo topic, or seasonal topic.

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> Curtis Jackson>Well, speaking of that, can you tell us about an instance where someone has came up to you and expressed how your music and what you're doing has helped them?

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> Speaker B>Yes, well, some offline and online, but, as far as, like, the, all the. On, the face to face. there was a person who, that I, I mean, a lot of times it's just like one off gigs and sense, in the sense of, like, I meet so many people in a sense, in a gig, and sometimes it's hard to know who's who. But there has been times where, you know, one person has said, like, hey, like, I'm so glad that you will end the stigma because, like, I had, like, someone, you know, and my family, you know, commit suicide. And it's like, I'm so thankful.

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> Speaker B>Like, it's, you know, you bring an awareness to it and you're fighting for, you know, those people, who are, you know, who are suicidal and things like that.

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> Speaker B>So things like that are a big deal for me because it's like, it really, really helps me realized that, like, this is not, like, my work is not in vain. Like, in this even, like, I'll go further. There was a person who, I met in, church who was a, he must have been in like a preteen or something like that, and he visited from Canada with a group. So it was like several years ago when I started putting out, like, spoken word material. in the past, me now not so much. And fast forward, you know, I exchanged, social media with him and everything like that.

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> Speaker B>And then after I got home from church that same evening, I kid you not, something told me to look at my messenger, Facebook messenger.

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> Speaker B>And it was Ryan. And I looked at the message and he said, your YouTube, like, rich, she was like, your YouTube saved my life. And that same day, I'm like, wow. Like, I. It really brought me to, like, to tears because I'm like, I never knew, like, how powerful my music or my material was because of the lack of, you know, validation, you know, from two people that I wanted to, in a sense, impress. And. And I. And I realized that, no, like, that's a big, that's a big, a deal. Like, to be able to. To have someone say that and not even know the person from a hole in the wall, it really does signify, you know, it really does, you know, amplify or signifies, like, such an importance of, being able to make, you know, that personal connection through, a digital platform.

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> Speaker B>And I was just convinced after that that my music has a purpose. And I can't stop. I can't stop because there's someone else who's living through my lyrics. And if I give up on myself, there's no way that, you know, that this person or another person will be able to get, up on their feet, you know what I mean?

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> Speaker B>And be able to live another day. Because I noticed that too many times, you know, there were people who were telling me that my music is getting through them, through a tough. Getting them through a tough patch. A rough patch. And I never took it for granted. Cause I'm like, wow. Like, I didn't know how influence of influential my music would become until people actually verbalized it. Cause until then, I didn't really know.

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> Curtis Jackson>Absolutely.

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> Curtis Jackson>What resources or practices would you recommend for fellow artists or even listeners who are struggling with mental health?

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> Speaker B>I would say what helped me really is I decided to take the therapy route. I know therapy is not accessible for everyone.

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> Speaker B>and for me, it really helped me to navigate, mental abuse. I worked with a life coach. She helped me, with figuring out the pieces of, like, not harboring resentment for the person who held space for me, and things like that.

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> Speaker B>So I would say one, you know, a therapist or counselor, someone who's actually struggled, or, you know, has expertise or in mental health, I would say also to confide in, self care books, to be not again, knowledge, about, struggles with mental health.

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> Speaker B>What are the symptoms? What are ways to cope with mental health? Different things like that.

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> Speaker B>I noticed that there was a lot of books I read that helped me navigate and helped me realize that, you know, fitness is so important to mental health, which is another, tip. You know, fitness helped me really stay grounded and not really be in my head so much. I was able to just like be in my body versus being in my head.

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> Speaker B>that helped tremendously. I also would recommend people to, to either meditate or just to have that moment of, ah, stillness. And also journal. Journal what you're thinking, and why you feel this way, because it all is therapeutic. I've written so much things through the pandemic that I still have yet to revisit because it was so much that I was going through at the time. And it really helped me to process a lot of what I was going through. And I would recommend, you know, those cute tips is like, seek a community, someone to talk to. Because I noticed when I did see community, I isolated and I was literally, you know, committing suicide by just not speaking to anybody about what I was going through. And that's also not a good thing. So one, see community. Two, seek out whether it's a therapist, a counselor. Three, I would say seek, a self care book, you know, for adrenaline. And five, you know, this, get, into like a routine, whether it's a walking, a fitness routine or something that could just get you out of your head. Because an expression that I heard from one of my, my life coach, Trinisha sass, is when you're in your head, you're dead. And I really believe that, because when I was in my head, I literally was, you know, spiritually dead because I didn't know how to handle my depression.

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> Curtis Jackson>Well, have you faced any, any challenges or stigmas or anything about, putting mental health in your music, through the music industry?

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> Speaker B>That's a good question. not necessarily, but there's, there's been times where I'm not going to lie. Like, I've been very hesitant to speak about certain things in my music because I know my music is not, it's not cookie cutter. So, like, I.

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> Speaker B>I always, have resistance of speaking really raw about some of my stuff because a lot of, there's some music that I write that's very visual and it could be off putting to other people and, might turn people off. So, you know, I always was contemplating maybe not putting that lyric in, or maybe it's too much, or maybe it's too visual, like, you know what I mean? Because I know sometimes mental health is very touchy subject. And I know some people have sensitivities and things like that.

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> Speaker B>and I know, like, I can't just sugarcoat what I've been through and what I've experienced with my mental health journey. So, you know, it was a stigma at one point to shot to kind of like, keep quiet about it, about some of these dark things because I'm thinking like, oh, it's way too much for people. But then I'm like, no, like, why? Why is it too much? You know, it's, it's, it's me speaking about my little lived experiences. And it's like no one really could judge what I've lived through unless they, they've lived through it, you know?

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> Speaker B>so that's my take on it. It's like, I was able to kind of shift my, the narrative about that, about not speaking or just, you know, keeping silent about it to voicing my opinions and speaking about my demons. Because again, it's also helping others and also it's helping me, you know, unclog a lot of those, that mentality, fog that I had, in my mind when I was facing those, dark moments.

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> Curtis Jackson>Sound like you have a clothing brand sponsorship now, too.

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> Curtis Jackson>Tell us about that.

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> Speaker B>Well, I did at one point, cardboard boy clothing brand. that was several years ago when I was, when I had the other rap name, Rich. So fresh.

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> Speaker B>But, now I'm just really, My focus really is on pushing my book because my book is really important to me because it came, it was birthed during the pandemic. And it's really about, shedding awareness, to my mental health journeys, my struggles with suicidal ideation, as well as my self worth, and self discovery journey, as well. So that's been more of an importance to me, because I know that there's healing and there's resources in the book that people can tap into and numbers that people can dial when they're feeling, like they have no one to speak to. So that's really been, an integral part of my, career right now and my main priority.

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> Curtis Jackson>What else are you working on that people, need to be aware of?

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> Speaker B>I'm actually working on, a lot of new material. I'm dropping a single every single month till, December. I dropped quite a few singles. I will not commit suicide is out right now.

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> Speaker B>And it's a hot single, about struggling with, my suicidal, attempt, my suicide attempt, during the pandemic. And it's a powerful record, reminding other people not to resort to suicide. That there is light at the end tunnel and that they're here for a reason, such as I am. I'm also, working on dropping, another project, one or two projects, for quarter four of this year, Ep.

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> Speaker B>Not sure how many, songs will be on the record, but, I want people to look out for, definitely a concept ep, a, powerful one about either. About self worth or just about, it's definitely going to be in the bomb of mental health, but not m sure to what capacity. but those are the main, priorities. And my main, the main things that I want people to look out for is definitely the no singles and the no ep that I would drop, this year.

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> Curtis Jackson>What though, I should contact info so people can keep up with everything that you're up to.

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> Speaker B>Yes, my, ig and my facebook. I mean ig and also my website, to buy the book is going to be www.

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> Speaker B>Dot rich vysion.com.

00:23:59.181 --> 00:24:13.532
> Speaker B>so that's rich. R I c h v y. Like yellow sion.com. and you can find my music there. You can also find my social media, which is also the same name. Rich.

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> Speaker B>V y s I o n on Instagram.

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> Speaker B>And, everything else is pretty much my rap name. So if you google rich vision, r I c h v y s a o n, you should find it, either without the space in the middle or, with the space or without the space. all of my links will pop up in my YouTube and everything else like that, that I'm promoting. But I just want to remind, those listening to this podcast that, your story matters and you're here for a reason and that you're worthy and that there's no one that can take away your purpose and your, mission and what you are meant to do on this earth.

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> Speaker B>Period.

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> Curtis Jackson>Period. Ladies and gentlemen, Richvision.com. please be sure to check him out. Follow rate review share this episode to as many people as possible. Check out his book, check out his music. Jump on your favorite podcast app. Give us a review.

00:25:09.207 --> 00:25:30.621
> Curtis Jackson>Follow us. Like us if you have any guests or suggestion topics, Curtis Jackson, 1978 is the place to send them. Share this episode to as many people as possible, especially those who might be struggling right now cause times are hard. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And rich, thank you so much for joining me today.

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> Speaker B>Thank you so much for having me. Allow me to share my story with your audience. I really appreciate it.

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> Curtis Jackson>For more information on the living the Dream podcast, visit www.djcurveball.com until next time, stay focused on living the dream. Dream.