“Not too long ago I found myself in a very dark place,” says California rapper Hi-Tone. “It stole everything I loved and locked my mind in a mental prison. I experienced a level of fear I had never felt before, fearing things I’d never feared and thinking things I’d never thought."
Hi-Tone's struggle to overcoming depression and drug abuse is the focus of his new album No Xanax Needed. The album's lynchpin is a song called "Selfish," an indictment of his own vanity and neglect of his family and friends. The song, then, is a form of atonement, as Hi-Tone attempts to come to terms with the actions he regrets. "You can't use your bank account when you take your last breath, so enjoy all them small things and things we forget," he raps.
If there's a takeaway message from this song, it's to let your family know you love them. Stream No Xanax Needed and watch Hi-Tone's recently released video for "Purpose."