“Deep Reverence”

Big Sean dropped his new album, Detroit 2, recently and one of the tracks on it is called “Deep Reverence”. You could say it’s definitely my favourite track on the album. Why? Well there’s two reasons. First, we hear the late great Nipsey Hussle’s voice on it spitting bars, as per usual. The second reason is the message behind a certain part in the song; well, the message that I get. We’ll get to that in a bit though.

So what exactly is “reverence”? It means: To have deep respect for someone or something. And I’m sure that we all have reverence for someone. It’s one of the natural facets of humanity. Someone or something you revered made a lasting impression on you and impacted your growth and development. In a way, we need reverence in order to progress in life. Humans evolve naturally throughout their lives, whether the change is good or bad. And while it’s good to have reverence for others, how much do you have reverence for yourself?

Which brings me back to the song. There’s these few lines from Big Sean that I replay over and over every time I hear it. He says:

‘Damn, I realize all my setbacks were inside of me
In high school I learned chemistry, biology
But not how to cope with anxiety
Or how I could feel like I’m by myself on an island
With depression on all sides of me‘

It resonates with me so much. And not just because I’ve gone through those battles myself, and am still fighting the good fight, but because it shows that some of us were never really equipped to deal with those kind of issues growing up. Suppression was, and for some, still is the key to survival, albeit unhealthy survival. Also, due to COVID, we’re seeing a rise in people suffering from mental health issues and a rise in suicide rates. I’d be lying if it said it wasn’t breaking my heart.

So while it’s great to have reverence for someone or something, we need to have reverence for ourselves as well. We need to make sure that we respect ourselves enough to take care of our mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical health, especially during these trying times. There’s nothing wrong with suffering at all. We’re human, so suffering is natural. You’re not weak for admitting that. Seeking help and taking care of yourself is one of the strongest things that you can do. Self love is the best love. And always remember that you’re never alone.

Peace and blessings.

CB