“When I’m making music, everything else gets forgotten”

by Kane Tilly

Rapper Kane Tilly, known as ‘Citizen Kane’, is donating all profits from his latest album to Anxiety UK. He told us about his own experiences of anxiety, how music helps him cope, and why he wanted to give something back in this special way.

“I’ve struggled with anxiety for four or five years, after being diagnosed during a very difficult relationship. I was anxious about all sorts of things, but now my main problem is health anxiety.

It’s had its ups and downs; there are moments when I forget about it and moments where I can’t remember not having anxiety, and it feels like the be all and end all.

During 2020, because of everything happening with the pandemic, it got worse and I had a lot of bad days. The only thing that kept me going was music, and because of the extra time I had during lockdown, I was able to work on a new album.

As well as help from the NHS I had some support from Anxiety UK too, so I decided that donating its profits was a good opportunity to give something back.

I have mentioned my anxiety in my lyrics in the past, but when I posted a video on my social media channels explaining why I was making the donations, it was the first time I had spoken about it properly. The video opened up conversations and some friends told me they struggle with mental health too.

In the music industry, you tend to only see the exterior of people, you don’t always get to know what the person is like. So, I thought it was important to show that I am human, and I have things going on – whether they are good or bad.

It sounds like a cliche but when I’m writing or recording music, I get lost in it, and everything else just gets forgotten. Normally, the worries I had are gone afterwards. The lyrics also give me an outlet to talk about what’s on my mind.

When I was younger, I wasn’t good at expressing how I felt so I used to write it down, and that stemmed into writing lyrics.

I would advise other young men struggling with anxiety to talk to their friends. I thought some of my friends would laugh, but they have turned out to be more supportive than I could have imagined. And find something you love doing to occupy your time. That has made a huge difference for me.”

About Citizen Kane

Kane, 25, lives in High Wycombe and has been making music since his late teens. Describing his style as ‘conscious rap’, his album Hillview Boy was released in December last year, and all the profits are being donated to Anxiety UK.

Find out more about Citizen Kane on Instagram @CitizenKaneRAP. ‘Hillview Boy’ is available on all streaming platforms.

 

The views expressed by the contributor are not necessarily those of Anxiety UK, nor can we guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. If you would like to write a blog for AUK please email [email protected]  for more information