by alex grainger
Adam Hicks recently released his debut hip-hop single “Chosen One.” A vulnerable and striking conversation and single reveals the private life and struggles of Hicks away from the spotlight of being a successful child actor. The honest hip-hop single was written during his incarceration. Hicks used his incarceration and sobriety to save himself and hopes this single to be a note of inspiration and motivation for anyone who is struggling alone and has to save their own life. He is not only sharing his story through his music but also plans to use his platform to “create a change in the justice system.” Read more about “Chosen One” and Adam Hicks’ story below!
Can you tell us what your single “Chosen One” is about?
Adam: “‘Chosen One’ starts off telling the story about my life before I got arrested. I was neglecting my mental health to keep pushing forward on my career, trying to make everyone happy around me and support a lot of people financially. I turned to substances to mask the pain I was in mentally after losing my mother and my brother going to prison along with the anxiety I had been dealing with since I was six years old in the industry. It tells the story about how I was acting reckless when I was on substances, and going about my life without taking the time out I really needed. So when I got to jail I finally could get the help I needed, even though the care is well below the standard. So it’s about me going to jail, and knowing that since I was finally sober I was able to start thinking right and applying myself. When I was in jail, a lot of people I thought would be there for me were just not at all there. And I knew once I got out I would start doing music, start getting my life going, and people would come back and act like the last four years never happened. So it’s about how everyone is with me now that I’m back. But it also is a song I wrote for anyone who is going through something and has to pull themself through it by themselves and knowing that anyone can go through their own struggle and make it through and be their own ‘Chosen One’ who ultimately turns their life around.”
“Chosen One” was written while you were incarcerated. What made you turn to music to share your story and thoughts?
Adam: “Chosen One was one of the first songs I wrote incarcerated, but I had been writing music since I was like eight years old. It’s something I always loved doing and got a lot of opportunities to do it especially with Disney thanks to Steve Vincent who let me write for Zeke and Luther, Lemonade Mouth, Let It Shine, Shake it Up, etc. But even though I had always written music I really started getting better in jail because I was able to really take the time where before I was always on substances and couldn’t think the same way. I really believe that in our darkest days us as artists write the best music and that’s what happened to me. I probably wrote over a hundred songs and they’re all the best music of my life I ever wrote.”
How therapeutic was this song in the healing and confrontation process?
Adam: “I enjoyed writing this because I knew that I would be able to tell my story through my music, and I have a ton to share. So with all my music I can’t wait to share what I have been through and what people don’t know about me, all while trying to make some bangers. It’s the best way I have to express myself.”
What is the message you are sending to listeners of “Chosen One?”
Adam: “Chosen One is for anyone who is going through a struggle in their life, and basically for those going through a struggle alone. I wanted everyone to know that I did it on my own and so can they. Everyone has their own struggles whether it's with family, with relationships, with their job, etc. So really it’s for anyone who has to go through their own struggle and pull themself up out of it and save their own life. That’s the deeper meaning to the song behind it all, because I know a lot of people are out there alone in their own mental health and addiction battles and I wanted to write it as an inspiration/motivation too.”
How would you describe your sound? With “Chosen One” being your debut hip-hop single, do you plan on your upcoming releases to have a similar sound or explore a new genre?
Adam: “All my songs are going to be hip-hop and rap. Growing up I listened to Eminem, Biggie Smalls, Big L, and Tupac, but my sound I would say it’s for listeners of J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, 03 Greedo, and King Von. A lot of my songs are going to be hype but I also really like the dreamier stuff I have going. I always wrote and rapped like Eminem and J. Cole in my earlier days so there is a lot of inspiration from them, but I’m putting my own spin on them to make it an alternative hip hop sound. Not straight rap, but either a hype vibe, a dreamy vibe, or just really showing off lyricism, because my root in everything I’ve always done is lyrical wordplay.”
This single and your story are both very personal and vulnerable. How have you found the courage to express these emotions with the world?
Adam: “I definitely think I have surprised a lot of people since I was holding in a lot about my childhood and addiction struggles since I was 12/13. I wanted to first share my story because a lot of people think I meant to do the stuff I got arrested for and that was never the case. I know I let down my fans who didn’t understand what I was going through and I wanted to share with the world that it isn’t my intention to act like that or continue to act like that. Unfortunately a lot of child actors do not get the help they need. We’re put in the spotlight with our issues and we have to try to cope, but there are so many people out there dealing with addiction and mental health issues that will never have a story in the spotlight. So I really wanted to shed light on what mental health issues the media hasn’t really talked about, it’s not something a lot of people know can happen unless someone in their life goes through it or they educate themselves on it. So I wanted to bring awareness to men’s mental health that can show up in different ways than it might for other people. I knew I didn’t have a choice, I had to share my story because if I could help one person along the way that would be amazing to me.”
Reflecting on when you wrote the song to where you are in life now, how have you grown as an artist since then?
Adam: “I think my music has gotten a lot better since I wrote Chosen One since it was one of the first songs I wrote incarcerated. I have so many songs I wrote that I want to put out about my experiences but also just to connect with listeners who have gone through something similar.”
You released a music video for “Chosen One.” What was the creative process behind the music video? What was the inspiration behind having it begin as a skit?
Adam: “The Chosen One music video starts off with a skit to demonstrate my story especially. I went through a lot trying to get the truth known in my situation. I had to fire my first lawyer because he wasn’t involved in communicating to me and didn’t really care what happened or what the truth was, and unfortunately that’s what happens to a lot of people in the process. The justice system will give deals that are unreasonable if your lawyer doesn’t fight them. And what I wanted to show is what actually happened to me, your lawyer gets you a deal and then wants more money to keep fighting. That’s something most people incarcerated don’t have, the rich will always get away with not going to prison. The poor have to serve long sentences just because they can’t fight it. The system wants to give you prison time just so they can say they did. I got my sentence after spending almost four years in jail, waiting since I didn’t have half a million to bail out, and then I was sent to prison for another three months instead of going to a program. Most people have no idea how the justice system works, they think that people get long sentences just because they deserve it, and that’s not how it works because money will always have the upper hand and why people can avoid prison entirely and just go to probation etc. because they have an extra 500 grand laying around.”
You note how you want to use your platform to advocate for mental health and “create change in the justice system.” In what ways do you plan to advocate? Why is this so important to you?
Adam: “I think what’s not talked about enough in the media is how many mentally ill people there are in jail. I was in the Twin Towers in LA County Jail, which is all for severely mentally ill people. And a fraction of them get the chance to get real help, like I did at a psych hospital, and more of them would benefit from it. When I received the right psychiatric medication my entire world changed, and that’s no exaggeration. So it’s very sad that a lot of people will just be spending their time in jail which really is not where they can get help, and the entire point of the system is to rehabilitate so when offenders are released they don’t commit more crimes. And if we don’t get them help, we are failing to do our job. A lot of people don’t know how it works, and I didn’t either until I was inside and saw how it disproportionately affects the poor and people of color, and it’s something I think needs to be brought to light that people who don’t have resources are suffering when they never meant to commit a crime, they were just severely mentally ill. I hope to bring awareness and partner with organizations in the future as I think I could bring a lot more awareness with the right partners and hopefully create legislative change.”
What’s next for you?
Adam: “What’s next is my single ‘Famous’ [that dropped] on December 9th, 2022! That’s my second single and then after that I have two more coming in January and February! I can’t wait to share my music with my fans and the world.”