About
Bronx-born, Brooklyn-based conscious rapper Rich Vysion’s story is one of triumph: How a braggadocious rapper overcame mental health struggles, and, along the way, created a platform that bridges the gap between music and mental health. For years, Vysion battled depression, limiting beliefs, and an onslaught of defeating barbs slung from his community. He hid his feelings behind a carefully-curated veneer of chest-puffing self-confidence, a gangster front. During the pandemic, Vysion found himself fighting for his sanity and his life when the isolation and loneliness amplified the voices of his demons within, and he hit a dark milestone. Thankfully, Vysion bounded back, and today he shares his transformative journey through his music.
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“I found myself in a do-or-die moment during lockdown. I was drowning with all this baggage I had been carrying around for years,” Vysion confesses. “I was becoming self- abusive, and feeling like life wasn’t worth living.” He continues: “In those bleak moments, I started to see the value that I have to bring to this world with my story and through my music. My journey of wellness and self-discovery started with seeing I could heal others with my songs.” Vysion’s music unapologetically honors his feelings with goosebump-inducing insights, viscerally poetic phrases, and a laidback flow.
His tracks are cinematically musical—often crafted from orchestral pieces, haunting piano motifs, and ominously entrancing basslines. His thought-provoking artistry has garnered favorable comparisons to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common. Though Vysion prefers to concentrate on the present and what’s ahead, it is important to acknowledge he’s been in the game for years and earned some prime accolades and recognition.
Over the years, his work has been featured in such esteemed outlets as XXL Magazine, VideoCity TV, Zevo TV, Soul Science Radio Station, Skilly Magazine, American Pride Magazine, Flyah Magazine Site, TrendCity Radio, LUTG Radio, “Next Up Mixtape Volume 295,” “We Workin Mixtape Volume 197,” and Thisis50.com. He’s also earned an exclusive sponsorship from the Rude Boy Clothing Brand. “Now is what really matters to me,’” Vysion says. “Helping others with a vision to take the plunge and embrace the many possibilities of life is my mission.” Vysion got his start in a private world of expressing his feelings through journaling. As a young boy, who bottled everything up inside, the routine of letting his pain and feelings flow out on paper was not only therapeutic, it brought him a sense of artistic fulfillment. “Just writing down ‘I feel angry today’ felt exciting,” he says with a good-natured laugh. “Being able to be purely expressive was such a healthy habit and outlet for me.”
Years later, Vysion learned his emotional candor touched others. At the time, he had opened up his private musings to the public through sharing via YouTube. “The turning point of my career was when a visitor from church who I was fortunate to meet told me my channel saved his life,” he says. “That was the moment when I told myself that my music is not just mere words on a screen or a piece of paper—they have the power to give hope to people who are coping with their demons.” But Vysion wasn’t always this in touch with his authentic self. For years, he adopted a gangster persona entangled with vanity and superficial boasting. “People called me out, and, at first, it hurt me, but I later thanked them for it,” he recalls. “They were right—I wasn’t being true to who I am. I came to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore. I was ready to live and express myself beyond the mask I was wearing, and finally step into my true self.” This meant an artistic overhaul where Vysion, in addition to his inner work, enlisted music biz professionals to help him step up his game.
He studied audio engineering, gleaned insights into what it would mean to rebrand, and he worked to clarify his messaging. Vysion also sweated his flow—working tirelessly on his craft by practicing his diction, and his rhythm, and then videoing himself to evaluate his skills. Up next, Vysion is working up a series of singles that will lead to an EP. He also has been thinking about spoken word and book writing projects. But most importantly, Vysion wants to help others through his generous vulnerability and his big heart. He says: “I hope that I can help others tap into the power buried inside of them, and see their hidden potential. I want people to see their worth from heaven.”
