Logic Reflects on Both Positive and Negative Impact of “1-800-273-8255”

In a chapter from his new memoir, 'The Brighter Future,' Logic discusses the backlash he received from his suicide prevention song, "1-800-273-8255."

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While Logic has faced his fair share of harassment throughout his career, it’s impossible to ignore the positive impact he’s had on the culture. That’s particular true for his suicide prevention song “1-800-273-8255,” whose positive influence he explores in his memoir, The Bright Future.

“But more than the sales or the money was the feeling that I’d had an impact on the culture,” Logic said about the song in an excerpt from the book, shared by GQ. “Calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline spiked by something like 50 percent. I wanted to bring these issues of mental health and suicide to the forefront of people’s minds and make them stop and look and pay attention, and I did.”

However, the rapper goes on to describe how the impact of the song eventually morphed into criticism as well, calling it a “tsunami of hate.”

“The blowback and abuse I’d experienced in the wake of the VMAs was like nothing I’d ever experienced,” he wrote. “Everything I’d seen up to that point was mild in comparison.  It was a tsunami of hate, and I couldn’t turn it off.”

Logic continued, writing, “The same fans who had heard ‘1-800’ and been like, ‘This is amazing. This is so special. This is needed,’ now were the ones going, ‘This sucks’ and ‘He’s too mainstream.’ The most popular thing I’d ever done, the song that was going seven times platinum, suddenly became ‘the worst song Logic ever made.’

He went on to describe how the backlash affected several aspects of his life, including his enjoyment on tour. He also cited the moment when he broke down during a live performance, saying, “As I said it, I kept fighting back the tears and fighting back the tears. Then finally the tears came. I broke down on stage and started crying. And people on the Internet made fun of me.”

Logic’s memoir, The Bright Future, will be available on September 7 wherever you buy books.

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