Pursuit of Happiness: Buddah Bless on Giving Yourself Time to Heal

Buddah Bless hasn’t spent a lot of time waxing poetic about mental health. Kicking back during a recent November Zoom call, he eschews rote wellness talking points in favor of straight talk. “Not to say I’m not compassionate, but I’m one of those, ’quit bitching, bro,’ types of people,” he tells Okayplayer. “I have growing to do with that.” 

Still, speaking to Buddah, it’s clear he’s got some internalized optimism to him. And why wouldn’t he? Dating back to the early 2010s, he’s become a 14-times platinum producer, crafting soundscapes for 2 Chainz, Drake, Migos and plenty of others on his way to status as an industry boss. He’s continued that run by, after spending years as a largely behind-the-scenes guy, establishing himself as a solo artist. He’s done so by unloading new singles with Kodak Black (“Owe Me”) and Juanito AZ ( "Mad Emoji"), tracks that put him in front of the beats he crafted himself. 

It’s the beginning of a proverbial new chapter of his career, and if our interview is any clue, he’ll face it with an open mind and an ingrained resilience he’s had his whole life. For the latest edition of Okayplayer’s Pursuit of Happiness, Buddha Bless talks about the importance of perseverance, using negativity as energy, and more. 

Buddah Bless: Can't say I've worked too hard on avoiding negativity because I use it as fuel so much. A lot of my career has been me feeding off negativity and using it as fuel. So sometimes it's like I look for it. Just like how Michael Jordan would make stuff up people said, and put it in his own head. Sometimes, negativity, it'll fuel me more than just the green pastures. I grew up listening to 50 Cent so much and seeing what he did with negativity.

Positivity is more of a subconscious thing for me. I already feel good about myself and as a person, before I had records, before I had any accolades, I always felt like I deserved the baddest girl in the school. I always go to the casino knowing I' m about to win a hundred grand, whether I am or not. I feel like the story's already written; as long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, it’s going to go or not go how it's supposed to go. I have an unwavering belief in something good happening for me. I think that’s played out well in my life.

We all go through stuff. You’re going to be up, you're going to be down. If the worst thing happened to me today, I always try to look for tomorrow because tomorrow I'm not going to feel as bad.. The day after that is going to ease up a little bit. As long as you keep ticking, you'll be okay. Just give yourself enough time. Some people will be stuck in that one moment in time to where they'll harm themselves. I can't crash. I got a lot to live for. I don't like to be in my feelings too much. I feel it, but I don't like to be there too much because what you feel ain't always what's real. Sometimes it’s in your head. Sometimes, some things just happen to the point where it's like, “Okay, that's a fact. This is something, this is a factual event that took place.” But I don't like to be restricted by my emotions. Whenever stuff hurts or disappoints me, I just think, “Get to tomorrow.” That’s my thing: I get to tomorrow.