Jayson Hines
Professor Seri
WRT 102.72
12 February 2018
Suicide Awareness in Logic’s 1-800-273-8255
Logic released his third recorded studio album titled Everybody, in 2017, which was the young rappers take on racial, sexual and social problems that “everybody” deals with. The rapper talks about his experiences dealing with racial tension being a biracial male as well as problems that many people deal with and feel the need to hide. This album was something different that the rapper has produced, dealing with the story line of a character called “Adam”, Adam lives his life vicariously through different people to experience the lives that they live and understand that problems and pain that each different person experiences based of their ethics or beliefs. In one of the hit songs from the album, entitled 1-800-273-8255, which is also the suicide hotline, the rapper alongside singers Khalid and Alessa Cara, for a four minute track, go into depth about the struggles that someone who is dealing with suicidal thoughts may go through, along with giving people reasons to live and not to kill themselves. Through strong pathos and ethos constant repetition of the chorus, Logic illustrates the struggle of feeling suicidal thoughts, as well as giving reasons to live while using discomfort and empathy for the listener.
The song does not go a minute without the listener feeling raw emotion through the entire piece. Logic causes empathy and starts of very real and emotional to then transition to very up lifting and meaningful. In the song 1-800-273-8255, Logic immediately comes at the listener on the chorus with lines such as “I don’t want to be alive, I don’t want to be alive, I just want to die today, I just want to die, I don’t want to be alive, I don’t want to be alive, I just want to die, now let me tell you why.” Logic quickly grabs the listeners attention with though powerful lines before going into depth about why someone may feel like they want to commit suicide. He causes the listener to listen to every lyric thoroughly and put themselves in the same shoes and him. He then goes into depth about how a person may feel screaming, “all this other shit I’m talking ‘bout they think they know it, I’ve been praying for somebody to save me, no one’s heroic.” He explains that some people think they understand what one person is going through but they do not and that some people are just looking for someone to help them but no one will understand the pain and the hurt that one goes through. He then goes on to say no one cares about him or what’s going on in his life and that people preach that everyone matters, but that clearly isn’t the case in today’s society. “Ain’t nobody calling my phone, where you been? What’s on your mind? They say every life precious but nobody care about mine.” On the very next verse, talented singer Alessa Cara then gives reasoning to why someone may want to live and gives beautiful, heartfelt emotion to try to persuade the listener to keep living and all the great things that life provides. “It’s the very first breath when your heads been drowning under water, and it’s the light that’s in the air when you’re there, chest-to-chest with a lover. Its holding on though the roads long seeing light and the darkest things.” The singer paints a beautiful picture for the listener that is intended to warm hearts and make the listener feel happy and hopeful. Then immediately, Logic comes in and continues to rap on the same subject matter as Alessa, showing compassion for the listener and explaining that he and may other people have been in the same situation. As well as explaining that there is going to be hard times and struggles but the listener can push through and prevail, even though it seems at most times they cannot. “I know where you been, where you are, where you’re going…what’s the day without a little night? I’m just tryna shed a little light. It can be hard, it can be so hard, but you gotta live right now, you’ve got everything to give right now.” The song and the chorus then continue to go until finally, at the end of the song, singer Khalid ends the song with strong vocals and another heartfelt message singing, “but I don’t want to cry, I don’t want to cry anymore, I wanna feel alive, I don’t even wanna die anymore. Oh, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna, I don’t even wanna die anymore. The song transitions beautifully from a person who wants to commit suicide, to a person who wants to live and wants to spread positivity as well as wanting others to live and feel this same feeling as well.
Repetition of the chorus is also a major factor in the message of the song, 1-800-273-8255. The Maryland rapper tries to transition the song from very empathic, to very up lifting and heartfelt, and he begins to do this right off the bat with the chorus in the beginning. “I don’t want to be alive, I don’t want to be alive, I just want to die today, I just want to die, I don’t want to be alive, I don’t want to be alive, I just want to die, now let me tell you why.” As stated before, the rapper quickly grabs attention and pulls the listener in to the subject matter of his story. As the song progress the chorus does change throughout the song, Logic goes from “I don’t want to be alive”, to, “I want you to be alive, I want you to be alive, you don’t gotta die today, you don’t gotta die, I want you to be alive, I want you to be alive, now let me tell you why.” In the middle of the song, Logic changes the chorus to express to the listener that he does want them to be alive and gives reasoning in the following verse for why someone should be alive. At the very end of the song, Logic gives one final chorus, uplifting the listener explaining how he wants to be finally live his life and how he does not feel the pain and suffering that he once felt. With beautiful and uplifting instrumentals the rapper says, “I finally wanna be alive, I finally wanna be alive, I don’t want to die today, I don’t want to die…” The chorus and repetition give meaning a life to the song to show the listener that life gets hard and it may be hard for a while but eventually things do get better. The raw, pure emotional will leave the listeners jaw dropped and surely feeling empathic.