YCee Reflects On Impact Of 2020 Mental Health Diagnosis On Music Career

Nigerian singer and rapper, Oludemilade Martin Alejo, known professionally as ‘YCee’, has opened up about his mental health struggles, revealing that he was diagnosed with a mental health condition in 2020.

Speaking on the Afropolitan podcast, the Jagaban hitmaker said the diagnosis forced him to take a break from music. He disclosed that he spent six months in London during the COVID-19 lockdown, including about three months receiving treatment in hospital.

YCee said he later returned to Nigeria because of visa restrictions. He continued treatment through medication, therapy and several hospital visits.

The rapper described the experience as a difficult period in his life. However, he said he is now stable and in a much better place after receiving the support and care he needed.

He said:

“In 2020, I got diagnosed with a mental health condition during the lockdown. I was in London for six months and was in and out of the hospital for about three months.

“I had to return to Nigeria to continue treatment because of the type of Visa I was on. Coming back to Lagos and getting into the system of mental health in Nigeria, it was a very, very long six years. I was on medication and had to be hospitalised several times, and still dealing with therapies.

“It was up and down. Sometimes it looks good, and sometimes, it just gets really dark.”