Warning: This article discusses suicide.
Kanye West has admitted that he contemplates suicide "all the time".
In a long and in-depth interview with the New York Times, the rapper and fashion designer discussed how he addressed mental health in his latest album Ye.
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The opening track, 'I Thought About Killing You', revolves around West telling an unknown listener that he has "seriously thought" about ending his own life.
When asked if those lyrics were literal or metaphorical, West was frank.
"Oh yeah, I've thought about killing myself all the time," he said.
"It's always a [sic] option - like Louis C.K. said, I flip through the manual. I weigh all the options."
He went on to elaborate on his experiences with suicidal thoughts, saying the act of imagining his own death may have prevented him from actually trying to kill himself.
"I'm just having this epiphany now, because I didn't do it, but I did think it all the way through. But if I didn't think it all the way through, then it's actually maybe more of a chance of it happening."
The interview also addressed West's bipolar disorder, which he refers to as his "superpower". He said that recently he has been able to manage with less medication, saying he had only taken "one pill in the last seven days".
He described motivational speaker Tony Robbins turning up at his house for an "intervention" in early 2017 after West was hospitalised for nine days following some erratic public appearances.
"He could look at me and you know, I don't know why he mentioned suicide, but he could tell that I was very low," he said of Robbins.
"Really medicated, shoulders slumped down, and my confidence was gone."
He also spoke about his recent controversies, such as his vocal support of President Donald Trump. He said that as a black American he felt pressured to support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.
"'You have to like Hillary. That's got to be your choice'," he said he was told by friends.
"I felt that I knew people who voted for Trump that were celebrities that were scared to say that they liked him. But they told me, and I liked him, and I'm not scared to say what I like."
Where to find help and support:
Need to Talk? - Call or text 1737
Lifeline - 0800 543 354 or (09) 5222 999 within Auckland
Youthline - 0800 376 633, text 234, email talk@youthline.co.nz or online chat
Samaritans - 0800 726 666
- Depression Helpline - 0800 111 757
- Suicide Crisis Helpline - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
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