[media-credit name=”Photo courtesy of Fastily Clone” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Maryland rapper Logic is encouraging others who are struggling to call the suicide hotline with his song “1-800-273-8255.” The 27-year-old performed the song at the Video Music Awards (VMAs) on Aug. 24 with collaborators Alessia Cara and Khalid. Since their performance, calls to the suicide hotline have gone up 50 percent, according to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

The song follows the path of a person on the phone with the suicide hotline expressing their struggle and how they want their life to end.

“I don’t want to be alive/ I don’t want to be alive/ I just wanna die today/ I just wanna die,” Logic sings.

As the song progresses, however, the suicide hotline helps them change their mind by explaining why they don’t need to pursue that option and that there will be good things to come in the end.

“It’s holding on, though the road’s long/ And seeing light in the darkest things/ And when you stare at your reflection/ Finally knowing who it is/ I know that you’ll thank God you did,” Alessia Cara sings, acting as the voice of the suicide hotline.

In the end of the song, Khalid’s verse acts as acceptance that everything actually will be okay, he can fight this and that he doesn’t need to end his life.

“Pain don’t hurt the same, I know/ The lane I travel feels less alone/ But I’m moving ‘til my legs give out/ And I see my tears melt in the snow/ But I don’t wanna cry/ I don’t wanna cry no more/ I wanna feel alive/ I don’t even wanna die anymore,” Khalid sings.

If the song wasn’t influential enough, the VMA performance made a lasting and powerful impression. Near the end of the song, a group of people who had attempted suicide before joined Logic, Alessia Cara and Khalid onstage, according to CNN. They all wore t-shirts showcasing the number to the hotline on the front of the shirt. On the back read the phrase, “You are not alone.”

This act caused an emotional response. Audience members and even some of the survivors on stage began to cry.

Logic actually released the song back in April and immediately started receiving positive feedback, especially from his music video, which highlights LGBT issues.

The video follows the story of a teenage boy coming to the realization that he is gay and exploring his sexuality with one of his classmates. After both sets of parents accidentally find out, the teen struggles with accepting who he is and bullying at school. This newfound weight on his shoulders negatively affects his school work, sleep schedule and motivation to participate in activities.

As his depression continues to get worse, he grabs a gun sobbing violently. He puts the gun to his head toying with the idea of pulling the trigger to end it all. Instead, he calls the suicide hotline, and in flash-forward to years later, he is getting married to a man and starting a family.

Logic has had his own share of mental health issues. He opens up about his anxiety that started in 2015 triggering panic attacks in several interviews about the meaning of his songs from his most recent album, “Everybody,” with Genius.

Logic has proved in various ways the common idea of, “Things do get better.” He concluded his performance at the VMAs saying that hard topics like suicide are something he focuses on throughout his new album, while others may shy away from it because of their controversial nature.

He said the reason he started writing songs about these topics was because people would come up to him all the time telling him how he saved their lives, Logic said in an interview with Genius.

However, that wasn’t his intention with his previous work. Logic said he would nod along and thank the fans, but never could understand this idea of changing others lives with the music he was creating at the time.

After those encounters he came out with the idea that in his third album, “Everybody,” that he would focus on different kinds of uneasy issues because maybe he could relate to everyone and intentionally save someone’s life.

“I just want to take a moment right now and thank you for giving me a platform to talk about something that mainstream media doesn’t want to talk about: mental health, anxiety, suicide, depression and so much more that I talk about on this album…” the rapper said. “I don’t give a damn if you are black, white, or any color in between. I don’t care if you’re Christian, you’re Muslim, you’re gay, you’re straight, I am here to fight for your equality… We must fight for the equality of every man, woman, and child regardless of race, religion, color, creed, and sexual orientation.”