The Golden News: NewAge Poet’s poignant R OK OK Day release ‘Sticks and Stones’
Shedding light on mental health, NewAge Poet releases new single Sticks and stones in RU OK Day, a day that invites you to take a moment to ask “RU OK?”
As an author, poet, and rap artist, Eddie Labbad, better known as the NewAge Poet, is a strong advocate for the awareness and importance of men’s mental health.
His new single Sticks and stones sheds light on the ups and downs of dealing with inner emotions as a man on a daily basis. Speaking openly about male suicide, a subject that Labadd carries close to his chest, experiencing firsthand the many close relationships in his life that have dealt with mental illness, the artist shares some very alarming facts. “By the time the clock strikes midnight tonight, six Australian men will have taken their own lives, leaving behind a trail of destruction and devastation just because they truly believed this was the only way out for them. This is the pandemic we don’t talk about enough until it’s too late.”
Labadd’s message is important and timely. ‘Sticks & Stones was born not only to raise awareness about the importance of men’s mental health, but also to bring to light the almost false topic of male suicide. Darkness cannot survive in light and it is time we avoid our rays from this virus that lurks and thrives in the dark.” lyrically, Sticks and stones it points to the struggles and frustrations of surviving without being well. “I can’t cope, I can’t deal with everything I feel” NewAge Poet raps about the days of being silent and where men’s mental health issues can come from.
By striving to keep the conversation going, Labadd is normalizing mental health issues and making an ongoing effort to make treatment socially acceptable.
He says, “It’s time we talk about the importance of fatherhood and the examples we need to set for younger men. The existence of the next generation depends on it.” Through his truthful poetry, the artist contributes a part of the benefits of Sticks and stones and his book ENTER THE POET will be donated to Organization “RU OK”. The Australian non-profit suicide prevention advocates strongly for people to have conversations with others following the motto “One conversation could change a life”.
