Who remembers when singer, Blu Cantrell, dropped her 2001 hit and was telling all of the ladies how to get revenge on their cheating men when she sang: “Hey ladies, if you man wanna get buck wild, just go back and hit ’em up style, put your hand on his cash and spend it to the last dime…”? For a minute, Blu Cantrell seemed to be on her way to solidifying her footprint in the music game, but after the buzz surrounding her “Hit ‘Em Up” style jam fizzled out, so did her career and her spotlight on urban radio.
What Landed Blu Cantrell In Psyche Hospital
Most of us hadn’t seen Blu in years and it wasn’t until she hit a bit of snag in 2014 and had to get admitted into a psychiatric hospital, did folks remember her presence. It’s just unfortunate that she had to be reminisced about that way. According to many reports, Blu suffered a mental breakdown in 2014 and this is what was reported by BETat that time:
Singer Blu Cantrell was hospitalized for a mental evaluation [on September 3, 2014] after she ran through a Santa Monica, Calif., neighborhood screaming that her life was in danger. At 2 a.m. that morning, Cantrell started ranting about someone trying to give her “poisonous gas.” Witnesses say the erratic behavior lasted for so long that police were called.
Cantrell reportedly referred to herself as a “one-hit wonder,” after questioning if authorities recognized her.
Blu Cantrell
We wanted to share her story with you all because there are far too many celebs who go through the same thing as Blu, but are unjustly deemed as being “crazy.” But the reality is that a mental health problem, or simply someone succumbing to the pressures of extreme stress and/or substance abuse, are all very serious issues that are easily judged from the outside looking in, but the inflicted person is clearly crying out for help and that should never be taken lightly.
Blu’s Voice Is Still On Point
Just three months prior (July 2014) to Blu’s psychiatric breakdown in September 2014, she seemed to be okay. She was still singing and her voice was still in tact as she gave us a taste of her new single at that time, when she was working on it in the studio. This is the video she posted online, showing off her skills:
Word on the Old School curb is that Blu is doing much better now, as well.
Many experts say there are typically about seven reasons why someone falls victim to psychological disorders and they could be due to one or more of the following:
– Genetic hereditary
– Social and cultural expectations – Feeling pressured to fit into a social stereotypical lane.
– Feeling inadequate- low self esteem, anger, loneliness, anxiety
– Depression
– Substance abuse
– A dysfunctional family
– Traumatic experience(s) from childhood
Not really sure which category Blu fell under on the night of her breakdown. But based on her allegedly making references to being a ‘one-hit-wonder’ while in the midst of her mental breakdown, she could have been experiencing what so many other celebs have either during, or after their careers were on a decline. We’ve seen it happen to Martin Lawrence, Dave Chapelle, Billie Holiday, and Katt Williams, just to name a few. They’ve all have had their “mental” moments, while trying to balance the pressures of being a celebrity. Fortunately for Blu, someone stepped in to help before her situation became tragic, like our beloved Don Cornelius and Robin Williams for example.
We wish Blu Cantrell the best in life and in her music…maybe one day soon she’ll resurface with new music because her voice is beautiful as it ever was.
