AKA asks men to deal with how broken they are as he mourns Riky Rick
As the world continues to mourn the devastating loss of rapper Riky Rick, who reportedly took his own life on Wednesday, rapper AKA says it's time to address the issue of "how damaged and broken the men in this country are".
The rapper, who lost his fiancée in an apparent suicide in April 2021, took to his Instagram to pen a heartbreaking letter in which he explained how “much suicide” he's seen in the past year.
AKA lamented that it was mostly men who were taking their lives.
“Let’s keep it 100. The last 5 people I know who took their own lives, 4 of them are men. I’ve seen so much suicide over the last year I can’t even feel anything any more,” the rapper wrote.
AKA said people needed to realise that mental health was bigger than whether a person had money or not, slamming those who questioned why Riky took his life when he had just bagged a gig with African Bank.
He added that Riky grew up in money and that the late rapper was emotionally intelligent, saying that the real issues that have to be addressed include talking about how men are “damaged” and broken” and often carry “generational trauma”.
“I hope that very soon we can address the issue of how damaged and broken the men in this country are. We have no-one to talk to, we just pat each other on the back and say, 'get on with it, be strong my boi' ... but in reality, we are traumatised. Generational trauma passed down to us. Ladies, we are not perfect by any means ... but damn, we are crying out for your approval, your love and affection.
AKA begged people to reassess their lives and go back to family values.
“Please, can we reset and go back to family values? Can we (myself included) start going to Church Again. Please, can we start some sort of dialogue about MEN in this country because it’s our duty to protect you, to provide and care for you. We cannot make this thing work without each other. We are crying out for your help. This is so traumatic. Please, let’s not forget about us. We not perfect by any means but damn ... Look at the stats, we are taking our own lives at record highs. Something has to change,” said the rapper.