Kevin Gates is opening up about a traumatic time in his life.
The rapper says that he became so depressed that he almost took his own life in December 2020. During an interview with the “Big Facts” podcast, he made the startling revelation for the first time.
As a provider for others in his life, he “wasn’t happy” and felt he wasn’t being appreciated. As a man, he kept his feelings inside and instead was “suffering in silence.”
“We so busy being tough and harboring all this resentment and emotions and all that you deal with… That pressure was on top of my head, I was like, ‘Man, I quit,’” he said.
Before disabling his social media accounts, Gates posted a video of his daughter and sent what could have been his final tweet, which read, “To my Family and Friends Forget not my Teachings – I love you all – it’s OverWit.”
To my Family and Friends Forget not my Teachings – I love you all – it’s OverWit 💪#NationBidness
— Kevin Gates (@iamkevingates) December 6, 2020
He had planned to go through with it after a visit to the gym, but upon leaving, he encountered a fan, who would unknowingly save his life. The man approached Gates and told him how his music stopped him from suicide.
“He was like, ‘Man, I was worried about you because you had disconnected your Instagram and your Twitter, like, the world needs you,’” he said. “‘Your music done kept me from committing suicide so many times.’”
Gates confessed to him that he was about to take his own life. The man cried and told him, “If you do that, so many people gon’ take their own life ’cause you all we got. Your music is the only thing that make this crazy world make sense.”
He waited three days before realizing that he had so much to live for. “Through that course of events, when I disconnected my Instagram and stopped making comparisons to my life and other people’s highlight films and just started living for me, really appreciating the good things about myself… That’s what really had shook me all the way back.”
He also realized the difference between social media and reality. “I had built it in my mind that ‘don’t nobody f**k with me.’ No, the world love me. Everybody love me, but you’ll get on Instagram and be like, ‘Man, don’t nobody f**k with me,’” he said before adding, “The only thing that can make you happy is fixing what’s internal.”
He hopes that by sharing his story he can help others. “If I only help one person with my story with everything I’ve been through, then I’ve served my purpose.”