Singing about mental health: why British Asian singer songwriter Prianca is changing the narrative
Prianca RA is a British-Indian singer and songwriter born in Leicester. Passionate about her multicultural background, she blends Bollywood-inspired melodies with a soulful twist. Determined to help others, Prianca RA aims to bring more awareness to mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health through her music.
With regards to the south Asian community in particular she says, “we need to break down barriers. Some of the older generation don’t understand anxiety, depression or any other mental health issues. Unless issues appear visual, they assume the issues do not exist. I was told not to talk about being on antidepressants and I was told to ‘get up and get on with it’. These are very common patterns of behaviour amongst South Asian communities. Reputation and family honour are prioritised over mental health and that is not okay. A person should be judged by the content of their character, not how much their salary is or why they took time out to focus on their mental health. I will continue to break down these barriers and address them in my music.”
After singing about her journey through PTSD in “Spacecraft Burnout”, Prianca is back with a new meaningful track called Hurting & Healing. Her lyrics are always filled with past experiences and this time is no exception to the rule. Explaining her own journey and creative process, she says, “all the dark thoughts in my head that I can paint a picture with when I put pen to paper. I let the ideas and creativity flow and preserving memories. The memories preserved through Hurting & Healing allow me to see how far I’ve come in my mental health journey and recovery. If I can touch people with the song and make them feel a little less alone, instil some positivity in their lives and make them realise how far they have come… that would be the biggest achievement for me right now. I won’t stop writing: writing helps me and heals me.”
The track Hurting & Healing is about Prianca’s recovery process and aims to instill positivity and light in others who may experience their own battles with depression, anxiety, sadness and fear of being judged. She sings ‘You’ll keep on judging because you feel entitled and I’ll keep on healing because I care about my survival” - with that, Prianca wants to show her listeners that even though it might be easy to fall for criticism, we shouldn’t care about what others think and be allowed to go through a healing process at our own pace. More generally, with her song, Prianca hopes to encourage anyone who needs to have confidence within themselves to go through this journey and to be appreciative of how far they’ve been no matter what others say.
For herself, she says, “some extended family assume I want to be the next pop sensation or reach for fame. Then they proceed to tell me it’s hard to make it as an artist. I studied law and my family always assumed I would go on to become a lawyer. Law wasn’t the right career for me and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do. I shouldn’t have to justify or face assumptions. I am an artist because I have a genuine passion about creating and preserving memories through my own music. The beauty of music is that it is universal and many people can relate to trying every day to manage anxiety and depression. In Hurting & Healing I sing about how mental health issues are perceived in South Asian communities; there is still a stigma and I won’t stop trying to break down these barriers as an artist of colour. I haven’t chosen a ‘conventional’ route and I have been judged for that. I’m very much unconventional and I am proud of my originality.”
As she should be! You can hear Prianca’s previous track Spacecraft Burnout on Spotify and Apple Music and the track Hurting and Healing here: