this week on our world with black enterprise i sit down with rapper actor and reality star, ti. then they take on the issue of depression in the african-american community and finally they profile an artistic safe haven in harlem. that's what's going on in our world up next. our world with black enterprise is sponsored by the

welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." his southern swag and woody lyrics put him on the map in the late '90ed. our rap is the self proclaimed trouble man about his family and more. >> thanks for spending some time with me. >> my pleasure. >> you're in new york on the book tour.

tell us about this first leg of the book tour. >> we're out here reaching the primary outlets to promote the release of the second installment of the book "trouble and triumphs." >> i thought it was going to be a nonfiction. now it's rare to write novels. >> right. that's why i did it. i just really don't know how to do a biography right now. i think i would be the youngest cat on the show with a biography at this point and i don't know how to end it. you also have a very, very vibrant acting career right now. you've done film and now you're about to start the second season of "boss." >> you are a man with influence and community. foot soldiers at the ready who know how to disturb the peace. the bombs bursting in air. i assume that means more to you than drunken sing alongs at a sox game.

>> sir, i was just hoping to have a more legitimate role in things. >> so many rappers they play raers or they play characters that are a stretch for them. how important is it for you to play somebody who's different? >> it's very important, man, to flex my muscle, man, as an actor. i look forward to opportunities that would allow me to, you know, just expand on my ability and to surprise people. you know, i think that in order to grow as an actor you have to challenge yourself. >> we don't always like our marching orders, but we march. >> i want the names of ross's appointees in order to preserve a 25% return rate to the gardens. >> privileged information. >> chapman, powell. simmons. >> look, if you want to be in good with my boss, maybe leaving his office for the mayor's wasn't your best move, you think? >> tell me about this role in

boss. what is it like? >> it's a stretch for me. this gentleman is in politics still it's a familiar place for me as well because in chicago and in the show if you watch it you'll see how closely related politics is with the street. >> yeah, yeah, no r, and i understand that. i think you're the chop for it. that's what surprises people. when you do interviews and you're in these places. people often remark how surprised they are at how talented and articulate you are. i'm not so surprised. why is that so surprising? >> i'm a rapper. >> plenty of smart rappers. >> so do i. still, they continue to be surprised. >> yeah. >> i mean, who knows, man. but, i mean, i guess that's -- that's -- that's -- that's just a part of the world or something about the world that it'll take me and other people like me coming up, you know, to follow. it'll take change. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> now you're well established in hip-hop. you're about to release your eighth album at some point this year. >> yeah. >> what's it going to be called? >> "trouble man." >> is that a direct link to marvin gay? >> not a direct link. the lyrics in that record, it kind of outlines, you know, what i -- what i have endured as a man and, you know, how people view me as an artist. >> you've had your share of troubles, legal troubles and otherwise. how important has it been for you to deal with the hell and odyssey with your fans? >> that's just who i am as a man. that's who i am as a man. you hear that in my music and in speaking to me. integrity, moral standards and

principles. so anything i got to deal with, that's the only way i know to deal with it. >> what's within your way of dealing with it? has it been family? has it been faith? what has been your -- >> all of the above. family, faith, artistic expression. >> how central is family to your life on a day to day? >> i mean, it always has been, you know? it always has been. ever since i've been a celebrity or a professional musician, if you will. my kids and just my immediate family has always been ever present. >> shut it down. family meeting. >> right now? >> right now. >> hey, everybody. what is the problem with you guys? you are wasting a perfectly sunny summer day. you know what, that settles it. we going camping. i'm going to let you in on a little secret. i've never been camping, but neither have they.

how hard can it be? >> you have millions of fans and people in the world who appreciate your journey, your struggle and your talent. give one piece of advice for them to move forward in a positive way, what would it be? >> any time you looking to achieve a certain level of success you've got to expect a certain level of hard work. you've got to be prepared to sacrifice. you've got to be prepared for the pain that you must endure because nothing worth having comes without hard work or sacrifice. it's just hand in hand. >> still to come, how depression may be affecting the black community in a unique way. >> we think we love ourselves. we talk a good game about loving ourselves, but when you allow people to treat you a certain way, you are not loving yourself. ♪ [ male announcer ] can a car be built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet.

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welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." depression is an illness that affects many people in the african-american community yet too often it remains in the dark. how can we talk about depression and other mental illness without the shame. here to talk to us is the founder of the sea way project. i'm also joined by jeff gardier who is a psychologist and terry williams who is the author of the critically acclaimed book, "black pain, it just looks like we're not hurting." i read about people who struggle about depression but they never discuss it. why is that happening? >> i think it's the ultimate

stigma. many of us see it as a character flaw, sign of weakness. because we're a very faith-based people, we think that to do anything other than to take it to the lord and prayer is blasphemy. >> we also see that there are genetic factors, that there is her t heritabilaty. in most cases people feel like they're not responsible. why can't you just get out of bed? why can't you just get up and go to work? why is it you just moping around? just pull yourself together. i think when people hear that it pushes them further into depression and they become ashamed of something that other people think that they are now responsible for. >> and i don't think that people really understand that it is a medical condition. i think people think it's something, like you said, a character flaw, something they can get over, something that they're not trying hard enough to deal with. >> i know people who often think, look, i'm just sad a lot or i'm tired a lot.

i don't think that they necessarily self-assess in a way to know. >> i think you're right about that, mark. i was going to say that. for many of us, we haven't named our pain. we don't know what it looks like, feels like, or sounds like, but it's literally everywhere we turn. when we don't deal with our day-to-day challenges as well as those of our past, we self-medicate. we will do anything to not feel the real pain that we're in. >> what is self-medication? >> we self-medicate with drdrug alcohol, food, work, promiscuous unprotected sex, shopping when we don't have any money, gambling and the violence we see in our streets every single day. >> that's why it's so important that people do understand what it is that they have, naming that pain. being diagnosed. do you have a uni polar depression which is sadness more days than none for a period of two weeks where you just completely disponded or do you have a dysthymia which is sort of like a chronic low level sort

of depression that you're carrying for two years? is it something like a bipolar or psy? we need to get the proper treatment. there are some great antidepressants that are out there. there are some side effectsç b they're revolutionizing how people are dealing with their depressions. >> i have bipolar 2 disorder and i say i have as opposed to i am bipolar because it's what i have. i think that once people realize that -- >> can you say a little bit about that distinction? that's important. >> the difference between by polar one and bipolar 2? >> the difference between saying i have versus i am. >> when you say i am you become the disease. you become everything that goes with that disease. and when i say that i have it, it is something separate from

myself that i can take care of. we have so much trouble, a, admitting that we have a problem but then going to spine help. then we have this we don't want to air our dirty laundry, we don't want to talk to other people about what's going on in our house. that's what's killing us. it's almost like we feel like suffering is part of blackness, which is -- >> that was the other question i had because i know for black people but especially black women there's already an expectation that you're going to be resilient, that you're going to be tough. black women carry so much of a load. depression seems like it's par for the course. it makes women seem as if they're weak if they're not handling all their sadness and stress and trauma. >> that has been your mission, hasn't it, to talk about it? >> it really has been. the thing is, there's really no -- unless you go to see a therapist, there's no real safe place for you to go and speak about what it is that is in your heart and in your spirit. that's why to the amazing work that you're doing, speak all

around the country and create a safe place for people. i start by sharing my own story and then the flood gates open because people realize that they're not standing on that ledge by themselves. >> just to jump on it. one of the major things is transparen transparency. i have the luxury of being able to talk openly because i don't have a 9:00 to 5:00. i don't have a boss. it's not going to ruin my life in any way. because i have that transparency, it allows somebody else. i just got back from therapy. my therapist said on twitter or on facebook or wherever i am because it's something i wanted to share. it allows somebody else to sort of be with me privately. what's therapy like? that's somebody that's going to go find it out. it's a slow process. i thought we end stigma tomorrow. >> i think we need to go even more basic than that, and it's this whole idea of taking care of yourself. loving yourself. eating properly.

sleeping properly. we find that people who don't take care of themselves who have all sorts of physical issues, their depression gets much worse. >> we talk a very good game of loving ourselves. we think we love ourselves. we talk a good game about loving ourselves, but when you allow people to treat you a certain way, you are not loving yourself. >> there are literally thousands of people watching this show right now who are struggling with depression or other forms of mental illness so taking care of our bodies, minds, self-assessing, seeking help. >> see your doctor. see what's going on. >> the point is, there should be no shame in your game. we have such high incidence of mental illness, physical illness. we all are dealing with something in our lives. be proud of it. own it. be able to work on it. no one is going to look down upon you. you may look down upon yourself,

but it's o damn kay. if you said you're bipolar depressed, i'm not, i've got to run. i'll say, that's interesting. tell me more about that. i want to know more about you. >> stay right there. we have more coming up. up next, we're in harlem. >> kids deserve art. they deserve high class quality training in the arts like everyone else. they should see beauty in their own community, not have to go downtown. >> announcer: "our world with black enterprise" is sponsored by state farm. oh, hey mike. what are you up to? oh, just diagramming this accident with my state farm pocket agent app. you can also get a quote and pay your premium with this thing. i thought state farm didn't have all those apps? where did you hear that? the internet. and you believed it? yeah. they can't put anything on the internet that isn't true. where did you hear that? [ both ] the internet. oh look. here comes my date. i met him on the internet. he's a french model. uh, bonjour.

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announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. >> welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." in the 1920s harlem went through a ren any sajs. now the harlem school is keeping the culture and tradition alive. >> harlem for the arts was created for a passion from one of its founders that said kids deserve art. they deserve high class quality training in the arts just like anyone else.

they should see beauty in their own community, not have to go downtown. >> reporter: this jewel is the harlem school of the arts which has served the community for nearly 50 years. hard times have closed its doors, but today it's celebrating a rebirth. >> just a wealth of artistic energy here. i thought what a shame it would be if this school were to go under. >> for a kid who's never been exposed to instruments before, do you just kind of open this door and ask them to come in and pick the first thing that they gravitate to? >> no, we don't do that. we ask them what they're interested in. is it playing with their hands, is it the fine motor skills of a violin which takes a lot more posture and makes them tired as little kids or is it the piano as they're sitting down or is it their voice? do they want to hear how they can be creative with their voice. so it's about what the kid wants

to discover in themselves. >> started the harlem school of the arts about a year ago. the reason i started out just taking classes, then i joined the college prep program. it's helped tremendously. i think the guitar, piano, saxophone and those are my main instruments. it helps with all of the instruments. >> for the eight-time grammy winning trum pe tear, composer and philanthropist the school offers an atmosphere that helped get him started. >> an environment that produces good energy and from that energy kids can, you know, be themselves, relax, and learn to play, you know, an instrument of their choice, or dance, or study acting, do whatever they have to do, but that expression of getting the emotions out and the creativity out i think is the

key ingredient to more responsible and happier society. >> i hear that they're renaming the school after you. how does that make you feel knowing that you're going to be a well-known name here in harlem now? >> well, at first i was a little embarrassed by the thought that my name would be associated with the school only because i'm not doing this for any egocentric reason, but at the same time what i would like to do is have other people think about supporting the arts and if i can do that with my name, then it would be important for me. >> now that you have this opportunity to make sure that the harlem school of the arts stays open, what's your vision? what's next? >> my vision is 1500 kids so right now we have 700. so i can serve another 800 and be really happy. it means that there are kids out there that need us and don't know yet so we have to reach them.

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that wraps it up for this edition of "our world for black enterprise." . visit us on the web. you can like us on facebook and visit us on twitter. thanks for watching. we're here next week. i'm here with the wrapper, the actor and the author, t.i.

>> t.i., we appreciate you joining us. >> you're welcome. >> done. ♪ you know ♪ you know ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪