【Historical Archives】

Kendrick Lamar has never been shy about his struggles with depression.

The Historical Archivessubject colored many of the lyrics on his critically acclaimed 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, in which he opens up about spells of sadness in a raw emotional manner.

Kaiser is repurposing some of these rhymes in a new ad encouraging people to be more forthcoming about discussing the illness in order to break the stigma around it.

In the 90-second spot, a young black boy wanders around a desolate cityscape. His melancholy recital of Lamar's words is superimposed as a voiceover.

"I've been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent," the boy rhymes through Lamar's lyrics. "Duckin' every other blessin', I can never see the message."

Those lines were taken from a song called "i," which celebrates self-love and inner confidence.

The track's emotional counterpart is "u," arguably the album's most depressing song, in which Lamar confronts his feelings of failure and abandonment of his family while screaming into a hotel room mirror.

"Loving you is complicated," he yells in the chorus. "You the reason why mama and them leavin'. No you ain't shit, you say you love them, I know you don't mean it."

Lamar revealed more about the haunting verse's conception in an interview with MTV.

"Nothing was as vulnerable as that record," he said. "It's pulling from the experience of going through change and accepting change — that's the hardest thing for man, accepting change."

Nearly 15 million Americans suffer from depression, Kaiser says, but many people feel ashamed or embarrassed to get help because of ongoing stigmas around mental health -- particularly among black communities, where resources tend to be more limited.

The ad comes not long after Kid Cudi, one of Lamar's industry peers, announced in a powerful note to fans that he had checked himself into rehab for depression.

The decision was credited with sparking a much-needed conversation about mental wellness in the black community and drew an outpouring of support from well-wishers.

The commercial directs viewers to a slick website with more information on the condition and how to seek treatment.

The campaign has been running in movie theaters, digital video and radio spots since earlier this month.