By Evan Kruegel 9 KUSA-TV News | A Colorado rapper known for lyrics about guns, drugs and money has found a new calling: advocating for mental health. Cory Mathias grew up surrounded by violence but found solace in music. For years, his lyrics reflected themes of struggle and survival.
“If you grew up in Denver, or if you’re a native of Denver, you understand what I mean by Five Points in the ’90s,” Mathias said. “It was rough.”
Rap music became an outlet for his emotions — a place where Mathias, who goes by Mathias Da Great, could bare his soul. But beneath the bravado, Mathias was battling something deeper.
“I didn’t really know what was going on at the time, I just knew that I was in a very unhappy place,” he said. “I didn’t realize that I was going through depression.”
Mathias didn’t talk about his struggles because he said mental health wasn’t a topic of discussion in his community.
“You don’t really speak about that amongst your peers in our age group,” he said.
That silence around mental health is something Liesl Perez, owner of Axis Integrated Mental Health, has been working to change for years. Perez, who is a minority herself, has sought to increase access to mental health care in Colorado, particularly for underserved communities.
> > > > > > > > > >
“I want people to be OK with being human,” he said. “We need to make mental health cool.”
> > > > > > > > > >
Read more on this very important story here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/colorado-rapper-using-music-to-break-mental-health-stigma/
Photo: Mathias DaGreat
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1311325503351039&set=pcb.1311325543351035