Rickey Teetz Recalls His Mother’s Struggles With Mental Illness

When Rickey Teetz was just a child, he witnessed firsthand the emotional trauma of his mother who suffered a nervous breakdown while raising a large family by herself in Montego Bay, St. James.

“My mother passed away after suffering a nervous breakdown from raising seven kids by herself and going through terrible poverty…the stress was too much for her,” Rickey Teetz shared.

The Lighters Up artist’s emotional trauma has translated into a soft spot for family members and friends that are mentally challenged.

In recent days, there has been a surge in the number of confrontations between mentally ill and police officers, often with fatal outcomes. That’s why Rickey Teetz is making an appeal for the public to be more charitable in their thoughts and actions towards the less fortunate, especially the mentally ill.

“Mental illness is a sickness that needs understanding and care and we can’t ignore the mentally ill and homeless, they are humans too,” he said.

“Life is hard but we can’t lose that sense of human charity, we have to make interventions of caring and giving to help the less fortunate to create the kind of society we all want to live in,” Rickey Teetz said.

“You don’t have to inconvenience yourself and it doesn’t have to be anything major. But we as Jamaicans have to get back to helping each other.”

Rickey Teetz is leading by example as seen in a viral video on TikTok where he offered clothes, and toiletries to a random stranger, a mentally challenged man in Montego Bay.

The Montego Bay-based singer noted that callousness appeared to be spreading throughout society in recent years.

“The past decade has seen a trend of people becoming more materialistic and self-focused, even the respect that once led for our elders is increasingly going away. We have to get back to a small island culture of caring for our fellow Jamaicans. Just start with a small act of kindness with even a stranger in need,” he said.

The Mobay-based artist has been steadily solidifying a formidable underground presence with his music which is a mix of motivational anthems, get-money hustler tracks and grimy street songs.

He is best known for songs such as 1000 Block, Lighters Up and Dolla.

Rickey Teetz, whose real name is Ricardo McLean was born in 1983 in the Montego Bay community of Rose Heights. He hopes to inspire others with his music.

The entertainer is slated to perform and host events such as Mikey’s Birthday Bash on January 18, 2025.