I Salute You

Stigma and rigid gender norms prevent adolescent boys from having honest conversations about their mental health during a uniquely complex, challenging, and formative period of their lives. This was evidenced by interviews Grassroot Soccer (GRS) conducted with 24 adolescent boys and young men in Alexandra, South Africa. 

Across interviews, young men said that they have little or no exposure to mental health information, are discouraged from being vulnerable and seeking help, and face rigid societal expectations about what it means to be a man – including pressures to succeed financially, hide their weaknesses, and act tough.

But how would these young men themselves discuss these findings in their own words – and in a style, language, and format that resonates with other young people?

To find out, GRS worked with adolescent male Coaches and program participants in Alexandra to transform the findings from these interviews from a traditional research report* into a format of their choosing: an amapiano-style rap song (a popular South African genre) and stop-motion music video called I Salute You.

By listening carefully and working closely with young men, we can change the conversation about mental health by allowing young men to express their experiences in their own terms – openly and honestly – and co-create programs and support systems that fit their realities.

*the paper has been accepted at a peer-reviewed journal and is currently awaiting publication

How It Worked 

GRS worked with Coaches and participants in Alexandra, South Africa, to transform mental health research findings into a rap song — an idea Coaches proposed during a workshop where they explored themes that emerged from interviews with 24 adolescent boys and young men about mental health. 

Instead of writing a traditional report, the Coaches crafted lyrics around the research themes. The result is a track featuring three rappers – a Coach and two participants – set up as a discussion about the key mental health issues that the interviews revealed boys to be facing, such as academic pressure, poverty, and the expectation that men must provide financially for themselves and their families. The track is sung mostly in Zulu with English phrases – just as young people speak in Alexandra. 

To bring the song’s message to life, GRS held a three-day animation workshop in Alexandra, during which Coaches and participants filmed scenes acting out the lyrics and hand-drew illustrations to bring the song to life in a stop-motion music video. 

Turning Research into Lyrics 

The interviews revealed several key themes about the mental health challenges and pressures facing adolescent boys and young men, which the SKILLZ Coaches translated into lyrics.

Perceptions of Mental Health: Adolescent boys said they had little or no exposure to mental health information, and used everyday experiences and language to describe mental health. This is confessed early in the song with lyrics like “On a serious note, I’m not sure what this mental health stuff is about. / When the stress gets me down, I chill and play music” – which reflects familiarity with the language of stress instead of mental health.

Masculinity and Mental Health: Another important theme from the research was that rigid masculine norms discourage vulnerability and help-seeking. Interviewees described feeling boxed in by expectations to “man up,” hide their emotions, and prove toughness. The Coaches translated this theme into lyrics that mirror the finding that vulnerability is often stigmatized as weakness, although many young men privately question and reject these norms: “They say a man doesn’t cry; instead, we fade away / While people think we are the man. / That story repeats itself / But we are going to end the cycle.”

Societal Expectations of Men: Another theme about masculinity was the conflict adolescent boys and young men feel between meeting the expectations older generations set about being a man, while simply wanting to be themselves. In one part of the song, the Coach appreciates his culture but feels boxed in: “We’ve been put in a box / I looked up to Pops / Not saying our culture is a flop / But we just follow the people at the top like a bunch of robots.” The participant then responds with his desire for breaking out of the box: “The elders paved a way that we’re supposed to follow / But I see things differently / And want to do things my own way.”

The lyrics also question the pressure for men to succeed financially – a consistent source of stress for young men that came up in the interviews: “Is it true that cash is king? / And you’re only as good as the money you bring? / I’m really not sure what I think.”  

Coping Strategies and Help-Seeking. The research identified a range of coping behaviors that adolescent boys are employing – from healthy self-care to substance use. The lyrics acknowledge the reality of using drugs and alcohol to cope, but then the Coach offers alternatives to these harmful behaviors: “Player, listen here — take life easy/ Drinking and smoking are not the best ways to deal with your anger.” The Coach and players then rap about healthy coping strategies such as listening to music, talking with friends, and playing soccer. 

Celebrating Resilience and Normalizing Mental Health: The song’s chorus sums up the key message that the Coaches and participants want other boys who listen to the song to take with them: “I salute you, youngster, and I congratulate you. / Stay calm and you’ll overcome. / You fall, you bounce back.”  

By celebrating resilience and normalizing conversations about stress, pressure, and other mental health challenges, these lyrics model the very help-seeking behaviors GRS Coaches and participants admire.

Conclusion 

Moving beyond conventional research reports and actively partnering with research participants is a powerful exercise. This co-creative approach gave young people power in shaping research dissemination, and they used visual art and music to convey ideas in creative ways that speak authentically to their experiences. By giving adolescent boys and young men the keys to present findings from their interviews on their own terms, GRS was able to translate research into a format that resonates with young people and their realities.

This research was supported by Oak Foundation. 

To learn more about this project, contact Chris Barkley, Grassroot Soccer’s Senior Technical Advisor, Mental Health, at [email protected].