Study on suicide: a life-saving rap song?

With the title "1-800-273-8255", the telephone number of the National Hotline for Suicide Prevention (NSPL) in the United States, the rapper Logic is said to have saved the lives of many Americans.

As researchers from the Medical University of Vienna found, the number of calls to the hotline rose sharply when Logic published the title in April 2017.

Even after the rapper appeared with Alessia Cara and Khalid at the MTV Video Music Awards a few months later and at the Grammys in early 2018, the medical professionals registered more calls from people seeking help.

While the number of calls to the suicide prevention hotline increased by almost seven percent at the time, the number of suicides fell by more than five percent.

As the physician Thomas Niederkrotenthaler and the co-authors of the study now published in the British Medical Journal (The BMJ) noted, the American health authorities recorded around 245 fewer suicides during that time.

A life-affirming imitation effect

In “1-800-273-8255”, or “1-800” for short, Logic sings about a young person who is losing his courage to face life because of his feelings for a classmate. After calling a hotline for those at risk of suicide, however, he decides to move on. The title has won several awards, and Logic's video has been downloaded more than 430 million times on Youtube. “I recorded the song when I realized that my music has a real impact on a lot of people's lives. We wanted to help them. That it succeeded really blows my mind, "said the 31-year-old rapper, real name Sir Robert Bryson Hall.

In their study “Association of Logic's hip hop song '1-800-273-8255' with Lifeline calls and suicides”, the scientists at the Medical University of Vienna referred to the so-called Werther effect, the phenomenon of further suicides after reports about suicides.

Logic's title, however, proves a life-affirming imitation effect.

"The piece probably represents the most enduring message on suicide prevention that has ever existed in connection with a story of hope and recovery," the study says.