Rapper Mistah F.A.B. Opens Up About Mental Health Struggles

Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur Stanley Cox, better known by his stage name Mistah F.A.B., is a gregarious, talented entertainer – a six-time Grammy winner who just performed at the halftime show of the California Classico at Stanford stadium, to honor the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Born and raised in Oakland, he is also known for his tireless work within the community, organizing Thanksgiving meals, backpack and school supply drives, and holiday toy events.

But what he wants people to know, he revealed to NBC Bay Area News, is another truth. “I suffer from anxiety, like real deep anxiety,” as well as hidden depression, he shared publicly this week for the first time. “And there are times when it feels like the world is closing in on me.”

He shared how anxiety has been present his entire life, but when you’re “growing up couch to couch, house to house,” you don’t diagnose it or look at it as anxiety, but rather normalize it. There are “so many of us that are fighting silent wars,” he explains. He says he is being transparent to help others get help.

“I want to be the example to let people know that the money, the fame, the popularity doesn’t exclude you from these things,” he said. “There are still some days when I don’t want to go outside,” but “I can utilize this to help somebody, to give somebody the courage to talk about the things they are dealing with.”

He quoted Tupac Shakur who once said, “I may not be the one to change the world, but I’m going to plant the seed in the mind of the one that does.”

Listen to Mistah F.A.B. in his own words here.

 

Ni, Christine and Horn, Michael.”‘There are so many of us that are fighting silent wars: Mistah F.A.B. opens up about struggles with mental health.” 18 Jul 2023, https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/mistah-fab-struggles-with-mental-health/3275117/.

Photo credit: (CC) Brian Solis, Wikimedia Commons (Mistah F.A.B. seated far right, next to fellow artists Chamillionaire and MC Hammer)