British grime artist opens up about living with paranoid schizophrenia and being ‘sectioned’ for the first time – and admits his Nigerian mum called a priest to ‘pray’ away his ‘breakdown’

A British rapper has opened up about living with paranoid schizophrenia and being ‘sectioned’ for the first time.

Grime rapper and mental health advocate Shocka, 35, from Tottenham, appeared on the Hurt to Healing podcast where he discussed struggling with mental health and manic depression.

In an excerpt shared to Instagramhe openly recalled a moment in 2011 when he ‘exploded’, prompting his mother to call a Nigerian priest to ‘pray’ the incident away.

An uncle who witnessed the incident believed his nephew was having a ‘breakdown’ and instead called the ambulance, which would proceed to section the rapper the same day.

In another videothe rapper – real name Kenneth Erhahon – said schizophrenia was one of the ‘scariest things’ he’s ever experienced.

Recalling the first time he was sectioned – which means being kept in hospital under the Mental Health Act – he said: ‘It was 2011, it was December. I remember because I was sectioned twice in December….

‘I remember coming home and I just exploded. I don’t know what I was trying to say to my mother, but I tried to say something to her, but the words wouldn’t come out.

‘My mother realized something was wrong. She knew something was wrong because we don’t talk. So for me to come to her and be like babbling…’

The rapper, who is of Nigerian descent, spoke about mental health being a taboo subject in ‘African’ culture. He then shared his mother’s reaction to the schizophrenic episode.

“And I remember like the African culture – her first thought was ‘let me call a priest’. So she called a priest from Nigeria and I remember him praying for me on the phone line… I still felt that same.

‘And luckily I had an uncle – he was a doctor. So he came down and saw me and he said “oh, your son is having a breakdown, we’re going to call the ambulance”. They called the ambulance and that’s how I was sectioned for the first time.’

The grime rapper and mental health advocate, 35, from Tottenham, revealed schizophrenia was one of the ‘scariest things’ he’s ever experienced

The rapper is pictured here in 2010 before he was sectioned for the first time. In the caption, he recalled being ’embarrassed’ at the time, but now sees the photo as ‘proof’ of his ‘testimony’

The grime rapper – who wrote his first autobiography A Section Of My Life last year – has also opened up about living with schizophrenia.

In a separate video, he said: ‘It’s one of the scariest things – that out of all of them – of all like anxiety, depression, bipolar.

‘When you go through it – like a schizophrenic episode – I can’t begin to explain it.

‘It’s like I tried to explain it in another interview. It’s like putting on VR (virtual reality) glasses, and the VR glasses you’ve put on are like all of your worst fears.

‘But you are in that world alone. Everyone else looking at you thinks “what is he getting paranoid (about)? I can’t see what he (sees). It’s like… it’s indescribable”.

Born Kenneth Erhahon, the rapper and influencer was born and raised in Broadwater Farm in Tottenham, North London.

The rapper, who is of Nigerian descent, spoke about mental health being a taboo subject in ‘African’ culture and recounted the moment his mother ‘prayed’ to a priest about his condition.

Earlier this year, he took to Instagram to reveal that his father had passed away, while also sharing that he had recently lost his mother.

Shocka released his first mixtape Beast on the Loose in 2008, the success of which would later lead him to link up with fellow rappers Vertex and Double S to form the Grime collective, Marvell.

Two years later the group were named in the BBC’s ‘Hot for 2010’ alongside household names Tinie Tempah, Skepta and Chip.

But the group’s success was short-lived, and the sudden loss of Shocka’s once-promising music career would eventually lead to a deterioration in his mental health.

Years later, he returned to the scene with new music, but he is perhaps best known today for his mental health advocacy.