Rizzle Kicks struggled with early fame: 'There's a reason so many famous people hurt themselves...
Rizzle Kicks star Jordan Stephens has admitted that he "wasn't equipped to deal with" early fame.
Jordan Stephens "wasn't equipped to deal with" early fame.
The 33-year-old rapper became known as part of Rizzle Kicks alongside Harley Alexander-Sule in the early 2000s and admitted upon their reunion that there is likely to be a "reason" that so many young artists end up going down a dark path.
Speaking on ITV News, he explained: "We rose to our highest point of notoriety quite young and even though we probably felt as if we were equipped to deal with that kind of attention, we weren't.
"Our lives have shifted dramatically, our values have changed so the process [this time round] has been a lot calmer.
"I think there's a reason why so many famous people end up hurting themselves. "
In the joint interview, Jordan was joined by his bandmate and he believes that in order for things to change within the industry, record labels should paying for the healthcare of their employees.
He said: "The conversation around mental health was quite timely if that can make sense. I think there needs to be a thing where at record labels there's like in-house therapists so they can have that support around them, the label can pay for the healthcare. We didn't have that."
Jordan - who alongside Harley became known fo hits like 'Down with the Trumpets' - recently admitted that he ended up in a "whirlwind" of addiction during those early days of success.
He told The Observer: "I was taking 400mg then, so I’m firing on all cylinders: a rap album, a punk album; hot yoga, new ventures, hitting the gym… and I’m driving myself into debt. I was on one. And I was finger-pointy, but I didn’t know s***, bro. The perception I had of myself was so shallow and fragile. All it took was a woman to bin me off and that was it. My whole sense of self disintegrated.
"It was a f****** whirlwind. There’s a lot I don’t remember, and I feel totally detached from certain things that happened. But I just think, right now, it’s not important. All you need to know is that I had time on my hands, and some cash in the bank."
