Frankly Speaking released a very personal song, "Drip" today. He realized how bad his addiction to alcohol and cocaine had gotten and decided to go into treatment. The first night he was there, he began writing "Drip." The song talks about the initial euphoria of doing a substance, but how quickly it goes away, and how at first it was just friends hanging out after work, but then that circle got smaller and smaller. It can also be relatable to many other types of addictions. This is a very brave and honest song about it being ok to not being ok and getting help.
Tell us about the songwriting process for "Drip"…
My life started to spiral out of control. Being an addict for almost 8 years, the negative consequences were catching up to me. I was losing relationships, friendships, and I was out of touch with my family, and I was desperate. I decided to check myself into a rehab facility here in town. The second day I was there, I was laying in my bed, and out of nowhere I came up with the first line and melody in my head. "It's that first line when you hit my mind, and it goes drip drip drip". Typically I write by playing guitar or piano first but this time it was just like, there in my head. So I immediately got my pad of paper out, and I wrote the rest of it right there in 10 minutes. I called my brother the next day and asked him to drop off my recording equipment (microphone, DAW system). I started to record it when I had free time in the basement, and did the vocals and harmonies, and acoustic. Then, I sent that to my buddy OE Bangerz who I collaborate on for hip hop beats and he built the rest of it around it. I told him it was imperative to have the sound of droplets in it, and that it should start with them. So we sent versions back and forth and then it was done.
What does writing this song mean to you?
This song means so much to me, because it's really hard to break out of a routine or habit that you've been in for so long. It almost seems normal when you aren't looking at it from an outside point of view. But I am 38 years old, and I started to see what my surroundings were becoming, and what type of person I was turning into, or had turned into and it wasn't pretty. That is kind of what the second verse is about, having to jump ship before I sunk. And I was sinking.
I feel like this is a very relatable subject, what do you hope others get out of the song?
I hope that this song can be an anthem of some sort for those who either have gone down this road before or are on it currently. Sometimes a song can hit you where you need it, and maybe speak to you in a way that you haven't heard before or need to hear. I wanted to make it kind of fun and rhythmic as well so that it wasn't so dark, and it was pleasing to the ear to listen to, and I think me and OE accomplished that. And to those who are struggling, I know how hard it can be to reach out, and how difficult it is to be vulnerable. But it is a kind world, and people aren't going to judge you, so be ok with not being ok. And for those of you who think you know someone is struggling, please try and reach out to them. Because it can be so difficult to admit that we aren't ok and that we need help.
Catch Frankly Speaking at Noah Smith's Crooner Circus at Big Ash Brewery tonight starting at 7p!
