2024 is everyone’s Kobe Year, in that we’re here to reinvent ourselves, grow and maybe win some more championships–if we’re lucky. It’s also a year where people such as myself have gotten down to the core of some of their issues. For me, it’s been “party drinking” and sometimes mixing that with…errr, herbal refreshments. Now, I’ll admit: I’m not giving up my tree (just yet). However, I am putting down the bottle and not combining the two. I say that to say that, like Shawn Mics’ latest, I’m finally starting to “feel like me again,” once again.

On “ME,” Shawn Mics speaks about the pains and issues unresolved trauma and life-altering events can bring to the forefront. Now the song is great; it’s very emotive and makes you want to do right by yourself. The beat knocks and the flows are pretty damn fire as well. Aside from “this is a bop,” I empathize with his story; I too lost my mom and fell into an abyss chockful of numbness. It got worse over the last few years, due to about a million things happening at once. And yes, that’s all I’ll say about it. I’m still here, even though I had to keep the devil off about a thousand times over the last three-plus years.

“ME” finds Mics detailing a similar struggle, self-medicating and not talking about the issues going on. Due to a mix of learned toxic masculinity (i.e, “boys don’t cry”) and the void left after one’s mother passes from one life to the next, Mics felt lost and started abusing drugs. It took him almost losing it all and meeting someone who gave him a new reason “to live and to breathe again” to bounce back to some semblance of normal. Mics met his wife and began to improve on himself and his surroundings. That’s a story you can’t help but love and appreciate. I’m not married, but I do owe some of my restored sanity to people I involved myself with over the years. Two of these people, as SOTB Faithful probably know, are my kids. Love really can heal you.

I want you, SOTB Readers, to know that I’m not becoming one of those soberish people who chastises those who do drink, pop pills, do lines, etc. Policing people has never been my MO (nor does it seem to be Shawn’s). However, I will take the chance God gave me to revitalize myself and climb back out of the void, run with it and make the most of life for here on out. That’s in sunshine or rain. I will also implore others to do the same.

That’s because as cliched as it sounds, we should never think we’re alone in our struggles, even when we go through the roughest of rough patches. It’s okay to ask for help, especially when dealing with mental health-related scenarios and situations. And while not everyone will know the pain firsthand of losing a parent on the younger side of things, those who really love you will help give you additional tools to heal. If you’ve ever contemplated drinking your face off to drink the pain away–or doing harder drugs, this one’s for you. It doesn’t have to go down like that, especially if you surround yourself with people who truly care about you and your health.

Check out the powerful song below and support dope music in all its forms. If you’re ever feeling down and out and just need an ear to vent to (or eyes to read your thoughts), please reach out. I don’t ever want people to feel like I felt at my lowest points. I love you all and value you still being here, even if I don’t know you personally.