UK rapper Psychs spreads awareness about coronavirus with new video

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Rapper Psychs is trying to raise awareness about coronavirus among young people
Psychs
Kit Heren22 March 2020

A young British rapper has written a new song urging people to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Psychs, an 18-year-old artist whose real name is Rashid, said he wanted to raise awareness of the virus among young people.

He told the Standard: "My generation are not going to be reading articles, they’re not going to be reading newspapers. The main form of anything for them is social media.

"So I know if I [made the song], then people will start to realise it’s actually a thing now… it’s to be taken seriously."

Psychs wrote the song in a day last week and filmed the music video in Surrey Quays, south east London, shortly afterwards.

The video is Psychs' first. He made it with his team it after going to a friend's birthday party at a nearby Pizza Hut.

But in the few days since it was uploaded, it has been watched over a million times on Twitter alone.

The video opens with shots of Psychs wearing a mask and gloves while rubbing alcohol gel into his hands.

And he said that he wants to help people understand the importance of acting now to stop the impact of coronavirus getting worse.

Rapper Psychs is trying to raise awareness about coronavirus among young people
Psychs

Psychs continued: "We've got to follow the correct procedures... I’ve become more aware of my environment.

"We should be thinking “wow, I should be washing my hands, I should be staying as clean as I can."

The British Government has asked people to avoid unnecessary social contact to slow the spread of the virus.

Psychs said he wanted to help people feel less alone.

He added: "I’m seeing a lot of TikToks, I’m seeing a lot of people saying 'yeah I’m banging this tune in self-isolation'.

"You can tell a lot of people feel very alone right now, we're in a very lonely period. I feel like this tune gives them a bit of faith."

Psychs plans to study Sports Psychology at university. But with schools closed until further notice, he said a lot of young people are uncertain about the future.

"We’re not scared so much as anxious," he added. "It's… that anxious feeling you get in your stomach because you don’t necessarily know what the future holds from here on out."

He said he started making music as a small child, but has only focused on it since getting an injury that ended his football career.

He continued: "It built my confidence. I never thought I'd be doing things like this, I was never the loud kid."

Psychs added that school has sometimes been difficult.

He said: "It’s a very big individual journey you have to go through to find your way, and along the path I’ve met a lot of people...

"I’ve seen a lot of people try to enter my life because of how well they’ve seen me doing and where they think I’m going to get to.

"It doesn’t come from a supportive standpoint. It comes from 'Oh I want to know that guy because if he pops off I want to say that I talked to him'".

There is a long tradition of British rappers speaking out about social issues.

Dizzee Rascal described himself as "a problem for Anthony Blair" in 2003. Stormzy asked Theresa May "where’s the money for Grenfell?” at the Brit Awards in 2018, referencing aid for people displaced by the fire in west London the year before.

And Dave criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson at this year's Brit Awards for previous statements about various ethnic and religious minority groups.

But Psychs doesn't believe musicians should feel they have to speak up, despite their influence with fans.

He said: "It’s always right to spread awareness about something that has a massive impact on people’s lives but I can see why a lot of artists don’t do it...

"The attention it attracts from the media might be a bit much for the artist because people always have something to say, even if you’re doing something positive.

"Some artists just don’t want that attention, they want to just live their lives in private.. it can get a little bit political."

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