Bognor Regis rapper tackles depression with new single full of hope

Bognor Regis rapper, singer, songwriter and producer Adam Turner tackles depression and anxiety head on with his new single and video.
Adam Turner with his daughterAdam Turner with his daughter
Adam Turner with his daughter

Crucially the video ends with Adam getting out of the car and giving his 12-year-old daughter Ruby “a big hug and a big squeeze.”

Already Adam is waking up every morning to messages of gratitude from people saying that the song and video have helped them.

The track is called Broken.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It is me opening up about my journey, about mental health. I talk about how I am sick of anti-depressants and I say how they write out prescriptions and think they are handing out presents. A lot of people have messaged me and say about their mental health and that they are not getting proper help. They are being handed out tablets, and if one tablet doesn’t work they are given another type of tablet. They carry on in this cycle of different anti-depressants, this pharmaceutical cycle which is very powerful until you find the right one.

“But people should be talking about it and opening up, and this song is a song about hope.

“I released the song on my birthday and when I made the song I could see the video in my head. I think it is important for people to see this. I am waking up to messages from people saying the song has helped them, that they realise they are not alone; a lot of people saying ‘I can’t believe you are suffering with this as well.’

“It has touched a lot of people’s hearts, and my daughter is in the video as well at the end, which is lovely. I go through some really dark days and wake up feeling really depressed. You go through this rollercoaster of emotions with the video, but the very last shot is me with my daughter giving her a big hug and a big squeeze.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I made the song one day when I was feeling really really bad. My depression was really huge and my anxiety was high. I was feeling really sick. I suffer from severe depression and from generalised anxiety disorder.”

Adam relates it back to his early years when he “saw some things I shouldn’t have seen which made me grow up a little bit quicker.

“But I manage my depression now and I am a full-time dad to my beautiful daughter.”

Performance also helps: “I have performed in front of 4,000 people. I have performed at festivals and gigs and in pubs and clubs, and I am never anxious about those moments.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Adam Turner the character is different to the Adam Turner who wakes up every morning. The stage presence is very different. The stage presence is a confident rapper. When you are a rapper, it is different to being a singer. Singers are amazing, but to be a rapper you have to have this persona of ‘I can beat you’, of ‘my word play is better than your word play.’

“You have to do that because a lot of people pick the lyrics apart and compare the rhymes and the structures. You have got to be fighting to be the best wordsmith. A singer can sing a beautiful song and everybody loves it, but being a rapper it is competitive.

“I first started rapping when I was at school. It is how I used to earn some money. I would get people to write down five things about themselves and I would go home and write a rap based around what they had told me and I would record it and I would bring them their own CD. I would charge five pounds. That was quite a lot of money back then!”

Find the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=e5AFtS4yrrE or search Adam Turner – Broken – Official Video.

West Sussex Mind – www.westsussexmind.org

Related topics: