Charles Chibueze Chukwu, better known by his stage name Crayon, is a Nigerian Afropop musician and songwriter. In 2015, he experienced a depressive episode while attempting to get into college.
This was disclosed by Crayon in a conversation with Cool FM. He discussed the impact on his mental health of not being accepted to a more prestigious college, stating that he felt left out because all of his friends had been accepted but he was not.
He stated, “I believe it was because I was unable to enroll in the university. All of my pals were in school at the time, and despite being the youngest, we were all quite close. It was always enjoyable when they were there, but everyone was admitted to the university. Some were in Benin, while others were in Ghana.
The 22-year-old stressed how monotonous and lonely it had been since his friends left for their different universities in his subsequent statement. Being alone and not having any passion projects were bad for his mental health. His failure to pass the JAMB required him to retake it five times, which had an effect on him as well.
He added, “So it was just me alone in the hood and it was so boring. I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Even my footballing career wasn’t taking off at the time.”
Crayon on dealing with depression back in 2015. pic.twitter.com/SK7ArYiHmn
— 🐬 @𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘆 (@OneJoblessBoy) August 24, 2023
The singer even disclosed that he was a football player, before his big break in music. He did, however, note that he hit a wall in his career because of various corrupt practices in the field here in Nigeria. This also added to the dogpile of issues leading to his downward spiraling mantel health.
Thankfully, in May 2019, after signing with Blowtime Entertainment, a label under Mavin Records, he received his big break in the music industry.
Watch the full interview below: