(lo-fi music) (marker scratching) ♪ I was in flame mentally ♪ ♪ All these little broads be out here ♪ ♪ messing with my energy.

♪ ♪ Angels talking to me.

♪ ♪ Sometimes I can't feel the chemistry ♪ ♪ demons whisper in my ear ♪ ♪ but I can't let 'em get to me.

♪ ♪ Somehow they resemble me.

♪ ♪ Angels talking to me like lil Hundi get from ministries, ♪ ♪ demons tell me start and go provide, you know, ♪ ♪ we into deep, ♪ ♪ it's messing... ♪ - [Hundi] The demons and angels came from like my anxiety, I be stressing too much, like.

I be going through certain things and sometimes I can't like determine whether to let it go or just keep chasing after it because I didn't get answers.

Sometimes you need to the closure before so it's like, nah, I let it go or nah, just keep chasing it, like, see what's to it.

(group clapping) (page flipping) (marker scratching) (funky lo-fi music) At AS220 Youth, you can basically come here and do anything that you artistically desire, whether it's music, photography, media or like fashion.

(voices echoing) - [Qbando] Usually songwriting class will like talk about like different like genres.

So like Jay Lew he tries not to make it easy on us, you know like, he'll put like a beat we're not comfortable with or have us right about like a topic we're not comfortable with.

- All right, so what's going on y'all, what's going on y'all?

So today, right?

I really want y'all to really focus and thinking about the idea of how mental health and your music is comes together, right?

So as songwriters, a lot of the times when we create our music, we create them from our experiences and what we're going through, right?

So today what I want y'all to think about is I want y'all to think about how music has impacted your mental health or even has it been something that heals your mental health.

So has anybody got anything how they feel?

Like how music impacts their mental health?

- I would say it's the therapy and it's like a way of coping and connecting with other people.

Because it's like when I listen to music, people or or artists can say certain things that connect with you and when you're making music you can say like how you're feeling in that moment and it can resonate with people.

- Ooh that's on, that's on.

- Music is just my comfort space, literally.

Like I usually don't open up with anybody, so I gotta show 'em like, you feel me, the grit and grind behind my music, and show people that like if you are not feeling good, another person could feel just like you.

- Music is my way of coping or releasing like my thoughts.

- I want y'all write about that.

I wanna write, I want y'all to write from really the heart from a place that's really genuine.

Y'all lock in, y'all do y'all thing and then when we're done we're gonna try to share what we have as a group.

(lo-fi beats) - [Hundi] So when I write it's like I'm letting everything that I hold in go or just let it go.

Like even if I don't make a song with what I wrote, like I can still like look at it and like read it out.

So it just, it just releases stress and pressure and anxiety, whatever I have running through me.

- You got it.

I feel like, I feel like it flows smooth, to me.

- [Hundi] Here is like open, you should feel comfortable, but when it gets personal and stuff, you're talking about personal stuff.

I'm just hesitant on dropping them because you know the emotions that come with it.

(page flipping) (Marker scratching) ♪ I've been fighting demons so it's so hard to get along.

♪ ♪ I've been going through so much.

♪ ♪ I feel like everything go wrong.

♪ ♪ I've been feeling like the world too lost.

♪ ♪ So no, I cannot breathe.

♪ ♪ Got the smile up on my face, ♪ ♪ behind my heart just wanna leave, yeah.

♪ ♪ I've been fighting mama like war zone, ♪ ♪ but I'm learning how to heal so know I cannot be alone.

♪ ♪ Gotta make my mama proud before I gotta see her gone.

♪ ♪ Yeah, before I gotta see her gone.

♪ ♪ I lost some cousins, lost some brothers, even lost myself.

♪ ♪ Two time killing spree ♪ ♪ Never asked for help ♪ ♪ if I ever told a lie ♪ ♪ it was better for my health.

♪ ♪ I've been drunk, I've been high.

♪ ♪ I've been dealing with my doubts.

♪ - Once I heard, once I heard that we was had to write about mental health, it just like clicked because like as a man, you don't really, we really don't talk about mental health for real.

And it's like, I feel like a lot of people don't really care about our mental health, like, I have times where like I opened up in the long run, it gets thrown back at you.

So now I'm not gonna, I don't wanna do the, usually I'm not even comfortable with opening up in general.

♪ Ever since I lost my aunties ♪ ♪ I ain't never been the same ♪ ♪ and as always long live JB ♪ ♪ That one hit me like a train ♪ ♪ and I pray for better days.

♪ ♪ I know God could heal my pain.

♪ ♪ How to take that to the grain.

♪ ♪ I'm out the way to make a change.

♪ ♪ So I stay in my own lane to show my mama better days.

♪ ♪ Oh, life is a game.

♪ ♪ You roll that dice ♪ ♪ and then you fit in your lane, ♪ ♪ they sent a plan, telling us ♪ ♪ to go spit in the rain ♪ ♪ They took our dough we want it more ♪ ♪ so we gon' spit out the pain ♪ ♪ It's life for death.

♪ ♪ But I cheat death 'cause I can't, ♪ ♪ so many broken bones, so many trials that I fought, ♪ ♪ you ever go so hard until the point that you lost ♪ ♪ exhausted and hurt from all the battles you fought ♪ ♪ you gotta to keep your head high ♪ ♪ and keep your (indistinct) ♪ ♪ They talking about my life, ♪ ♪ but they don't know what I've been through.

♪ ♪ Remember cold long nights crying, mom didn't have a clue.

♪ ♪ She's staring deep into my eyes, ♪ ♪ thinking I got the blues.

♪ ♪ She said time heals all wounds ♪ ♪ got it on my arm tattoo.

♪ ♪Figure out my dog had hit the road ♪ ♪ and he turned Mickey Mouse graduated from the ghetto.

♪ ♪ I ain't got no cap and gown where I'm from, ♪ ♪ they bust caps and gun you down.

♪ ♪ They had hit you with that four Nicki or that trade pound.

♪ ♪ We was just kids running around.

♪ ♪ Take me back to recess and that play ground ♪ ♪ and that playground, I'm saying that's all I got.

♪ (group clapping) (lo-fi hip hop) (page ripping) (TV static buzzing) (surf rock music)