Lil Wayne is opening up about his past struggles with hopes that it will “help anyone else out there’s who’s dealing with mental health problems.” Recently, the New Orleans star sat down with Emmanuel Acho for an interview on his mental health series “Uncomfortable Conversations.” During the chat, he detailed the time he tried to take his own life at 12 years old.
According to Wayne, he’d been skipping classes at the time, so he feared that his mother would punish him and prevent him from rapping. His mind was “everywhere,” but it eventually led him to his mom’s bedroom, where a gun was reportedly stashed. He grabbed the firearm and called the cops before taking any action.
“I picked up the phone, I called the police,” said the “Fireman” rapper. “Yes I knew where she put her gun, and it was in her bedroom. And so I went in her bedroom, grabbed the gun. I already made the phone call, looked in the mirror.” Initially, he pointed the weapon to his head, but he “got a little scared” and brought it down to his chest.
“Biggie was on. I’m looking in the mirror, so you could look through the mirror and the television was behind me,” he explained. “So I was watching the video through the mirror. ‘One More Chance’ was on, and Biggie was already gone or something. So I was looking, I was like, ‘You know what?’ Start thinking I had to get myself mad and noticed that I didn’t have to. That’s what scared me. How I knew I had a mental health problem was when I pulled the trigger.”
Officers who responded to the calls discovered a bloody Wayne on the ground, but a majority of them, he explained, were more eager to search his home for drugs. Fortunately, one cop who he referred to as Uncle Bob, refused to leave him on the ground to die. With his assistance, Weezy was transported to a local hospital, where he was treated for his gunshot wound.
Wayne’s struggles with mental health first became apparent at the age of 10 when he was told that he couldn’t rap and have continued way beyond his childhood suicide attempt. At one point, at the end of his shows and concerts, he often found himself wondering about how things will be “when it’s all over.”
Now, Lil Wayne is “so happy” and is fortunately in a better place. While he doesn’t go to therapy, he says that he prays twice daily and puts his energy into creating music. ”That’s what I love,” he said. “Simple cliche: That’s what I was born to be.”
See Wayne’s full interview below.