Sometimes we all feel broken, like we’re trapped in a world of pain that doesn’t seem to ever end.

No one knows that world better than rap artist Mance Makall of Hayneville — as a father and a cancer patient going through difficult treatments.

Unlike many, the former Calhoun High School student found to way to take that pain and shape it into something for the world. In May, Makall is dropping new music dedicated to his late daughter.

“I’m doing a project for her called Broken,” he said, describing it as an uplifting pain album.

Mance Makall is a cancer survivor who has been going through a difficult recovery.

His oldest daughter Tanea Renee Gordon died at 18 after being shot on Aug. 31, 2020, in Brewton.

“Broken is basically about me raising her,” Makall said. “Me dealing with the pain of her loss. Me and my other kids too. It’s for anybody who has been through loss.”

For weeks after his daughter’s death, Makall put himself through torture. He sat around reading old text messages from her, looking at photos, trying to hold on and heal.

In the midst of that pain, he also lost a beloved aunt.

He’s poured all those feelings into something raw and real that speaks for every parent’s fear.

“It’s like a curse over my city or over my head, why all the people that I love end up dead or in a cell.”

“It’ll touch you where your pain’s at,” Makall said.

Makall has another pain — the sheer physical kind. As a multiple myeloma cancer patient who has been going through painful treatments with side effects, that’s something he knows a lot about. He just doesn’t let it define him.

He found out about the cancer about two weeks after his daughter’s death. According to a GoFundMe page set up to help with medical expenses, he’s trying to have a stem cell procedure done after he’s done with chemotherapy.

Mance Makall’s new project Broken will be released in May.

He definitely doesn’t let it stop him from rapping. In fact, Makall is already making plans to start touring again.

“I do rap about life,” Makall said. “About the struggle… I take a strong approach to it. I’m more demanding of the audience.”

His music has taken him to stops in places like Las Vegas, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and more. “At least 30 states in the last three years,” he said.

Along with making his own music, Makall also writes for and works with other artists.

“I’ve got a few features with different people,” Makall said.

If there’s one message Makall could give out to young people, including the ones who took his daughter’s life, it’s this: “Put the guns down and put up your fists, like we used to do. We used to fight. Kids are going to fight. But nowadays they’re shooting… I’d rather for them to fight than to kill each other.”

Follow Makall on Facebook at VBE Mance Makall, and on his YouTube channel at Mance Makall.

GOFUNDME PAGE FOR MAKALL

So far, Makall’s GoFundMe page has raised $1,060 of a $5,000 goal. If you would like to contribute, visit https://gofund.me/3358e91d