Iggy Azalea is getting candid about mental health and the entertainment industry’s negative effects on her own. The rapper tweeted out that record labels should provide their artists with therapists and other mental health options. “I REALLY WISH record labels would all agree to make it mandatory to hire at least ONE psychologist per label. Almost EVERY artist in recent times has expressed struggling with the level of hate & pressure. Sports teams do it for their athletes, why not music labels?” that is actually a great question, and for those who were about to jump down the rapper’s throat she had a few other things to say.
‘I Lived It’
“A weekly mental health check-in being normalized would take away the fear factor of having to approach often older people in power positions for help which can feel like exposing a weakness,” Iggy bravely wrote. “Trust me, I lived it,” she confirmed. The now-independent artist also opened up her follower’s eyes to working with “big labels”. She noted that she was signed to a big label and they did nothing to help with mental health knowing they have the money to maybe have a trained mental health professional on the artist’s team. The 30-year-old called out Rob Stringer the head of Sony Music Group claiming that he is one of the people who “isn’t doing anything”.
A weekly mental health check in being normalized would take away the fear factor of having to approach often older people in power positions for help which can feel like exposing a weakness. trust me, I lived it. https://t.co/p1dZkye3fh
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 16, 2021
‘If They Had Built In Access It Would Be Utilized’
Followers of the Australian-born rapper claimed that even if they had access, artists are not going to share their problems with anyone, a testament to not being able to trust anyone in the industry. “Respectfully, Yes, they would,” defended Iggy. “As an artist who knows a lot of artists and has had this conversation in studios a million times I can confidently say If they had built in access it would be utilized.” Iggy made a good point as she went on to note that sometimes there are “like 20 deep teams of A&Rs that literally no one even wants in the studio.”
Having built in optional access or a weekly call would prevent alot of breakdowns, depressive episodes & self medicating before it even becomes an issue.
That’s something a corporation earning billions off young artists could easily do.
other corporations DO IT already https://t.co/aJAL2MUEfg— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 16, 2021
Berated & Mocked
Iggy is joining an increasing number of celebrities who have been speaking up more about mental health. Athletes Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles both recently took breaks from major career opportunities to focus on getting their minds and body aligned. When they spoke up about it, they were berated and mocked by sports commentators, fans, and even Saturday Night Live comedian, Michael Che got awkwardly wrapped up in the conversation. Just this week fellow musician Lizzo hopped on social media to also share how the hateful, body-shaming comments she receives daily have affected her mental health in a negative way.
Independent Artist
While support is usually shown in the comment section of these posts from fellow celebs and fans who completely understand, there is still more that can be done which is what Iggy is trying to push. The rapper shared a few positive quotes about staying strong and reminded fans to listen to her new album End Of An Era. And to the naysayers, she noted that the industry would save a lot of money because artists won’t have to cancel their tours halfway through due to “public meltdowns”.
I understand this perspective and I don’t disagree but I’d argue that cancelling a tour mid way through or having a public meltdown costs them more than that. https://t.co/bTVr34OR58
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) August 16, 2021
