By Paidashe Mandivengerei
MULTI-AWARD winning rapper AKA has penned a heartfelt message highlighting the mental health crisis among men following the untimely death of fellow hip hop artist Riky Rick.
Riky Rick born Rikhado Makhado died Wednesday early morning at his home in Johannesburg.
He was 34 and is survived by his wife Bianca and two children.
While his cause of death has not been disclosed yet, there is speculation that the rapper who once opened up about his struggle with chronic depression died by suicide.
In a lengthy Instagram post AKA said he has seen ‘so much suicide’ in the past year.
In April last year AKA’s fiancée, Anele Tembe fell to her death from an upper floor of Cape Town’s Pepper Club hotel.
The SupaMega wrote: “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 anymore.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people, some of them said “He just got a bag from the African Bank blah blah etc … “ … that tells you everything you need to know about this fucked up, fake ass algorithm world we have created for ourselves to live in. Riky went to Hilton, he grew up around money.
“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.
He added: “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. 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.”
