Av Freeman better known as honestav, dropped by the KROQ studios in Los Angeles this week to talk with host Megan Holiday about his song "I'd Rather Overdose (ft Z)" which has become a massive hit on social media as well as a recent add on the station.
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00:00Alright, it is the world-famous K-Rock, I'm Megan Holliday and I'm so excited to be sitting
00:06here with Ave Freeman, aka Honest Ave, what's up dude?
00:10Word, yeah, what's up?
00:11Thank you for having me.
00:12Oh my god, thank you for being here.
00:14So we were literally just talking about how about two weeks ago I was the first person
00:20to play your song, I'd Rather Overdose, on the air, and here you are about two weeks
00:25later sitting here right in front of me.
00:27Insane.
00:28Yeah, has it been a whirlwind?
00:29Yeah, I just, ever since we made this song, yeah, it's been a whirlwind.
00:33It's like, it's, yeah, it's crazy.
00:36So this song has been around for a little while, it actually hit on top of the charts
00:41in January.
00:42Yeah, yeah, so me and my, so I wrote this song I think like late last year, or the very
00:49end of last year, and then recorded it early January, right?
00:52Early January I recorded it for the first time and I put my verse on it and then I sent
00:57it to Zee and Zee put his verse on it, and I think we released it in the beginning of
01:00the year, and yeah dude, I mean it, people, people related like right away.
01:05So it, you know, people played it on the internet a lot, it kind of became a trend of like a,
01:11like a, people telling their story, oh gosh, if you've ever seen the trend it's like hard
01:16to watch because people's stories are so like touching and like, you know, like, hate to
01:22say sad, but kind of sad.
01:23Oh for sure.
01:24So I think it just kind of like related with a lot of people, yeah, and right away it kind
01:27of got some attention and yeah, here we are.
01:31When did you, you heard it last, what'd you say, two weeks ago?
01:33Yeah, that's, I was the first one to play it on radio two weeks ago, and you know, literally
01:37the day before I'm listening to it in my boss's office and he goes, okay, let's play it.
01:41Really?
01:42Yeah.
01:43Wow.
01:44And then we added it to the playlist.
01:45So awesome.
01:46Yeah.
01:47I can't believe it.
01:48And I was telling you, you know, I'm an addict in recovery and I was looking through all
01:51of these comments on, you know, not just I'd Rather Overdose video, but on so many
01:55and there's people saying, Hey man, I'm 30 days sober and you know, your songs are inspiring
02:01me.
02:02So can you talk a little bit about the background of this song?
02:06You said, you know, that it's pretty heavy.
02:07Yeah, it is really heavy.
02:09I wrote this song, I was in a really like tough spot when I wrote this song.
02:13My dad just passed away.
02:16And he like, I was, I was learning about like, I knew my dad had like addictions and stuff.
02:21Of course, I knew that.
02:22But after he passed away, I kind of, he died from an overdose.
02:26That's kind of where the title came from the song.
02:29And after he passed away, I kind of started learning about like his addictions and how
02:32he really like battled with them silently.
02:35My mom growing up, battled her addictions.
02:38She's in recovery as well, though.
02:39She's like doing great.
02:40She's great grandma to her grandkids.
02:42But so I've seen like addiction my whole life.
02:45My brother died during in his addiction.
02:49You know, all my mom's boyfriends, every relationship, you know, just just a typical,
02:53you know, addiction, ruining people's life and ruining people's lives.
02:57When my dad died, I was kind of just I was writing that song.
03:01And as I was writing, I was just kind of doing it as therapy, right?
03:05Like I never even ever was going to sing this song.
03:08This was like, a song that I was writing just to like stay on my notes, you know, and like
03:12I was like crying writing it like couldn't breathe.
03:15While I'm writing it, Z calls me and he's like, hey, I'm in the studio.
03:18At first he was just like, what's up?
03:19And I'm just like, I can't talk.
03:22Yeah.
03:23He's like, oh, dude, like what's going on, bro?
03:26Like I'm in the studio.
03:27Come to the studio.
03:28I'm like, no way, dude.
03:29I was like, I'm writing.
03:30Like, let me just write.
03:31I'm just let me just kick it here.
03:32He's like, dude, just come to the studio.
03:33And so I came to the studio and, you know, I walk in and it's like you could cut the
03:37tension with a knife.
03:39Everybody knows that my dad just passed away.
03:41Everybody knows why, you know, and everybody knows I was sad that day and that I was writing.
03:46And so we recorded it.
03:48So he was like, dude, just I got 20 minutes left in my session.
03:50Just record it.
03:51Just record what you're writing.
03:52I could feel good.
03:53I was like, I didn't want to do it at first.
03:55And then they just talked me into it.
03:56And so I got into the studio and I laid like a takedown singing the hook.
04:00And while the hook was replaying in the headphones, I was like crying really bad.
04:04And I was just like in the studio screaming like, I can't let you go.
04:10Screaming it kind of just like screaming it for my own therapy.
04:13And he was like recording.
04:15And I came out of the studio and he was like, dude, that sounded great.
04:17And I was like, what do you mean?
04:18And he's like, we recorded that.
04:19And so in the song, you can literally hear like I'm actually like, you know, in the middle
04:24of a breakdown.
04:25It's coming from the depths of your soul.
04:28You can hear you can hear that.
04:29Yeah.
04:30Yeah, it really is.
04:31And especially, you know, that that take was just raw.
04:34Yeah.
04:35And so, you know, I kind of wrote that song about my dad battling his addictions.
04:40And you know, and I've struggled with my own addictions.
04:43You know, I've seen it my whole life.
04:46There's parts in the song where I'm talking about myself, you know, and things that I've
04:50put other people through from my own addictions or my own problems, you know.
04:54And then, you know, the hook, the hook, I'm basically just kind of talking to my dad like,
04:58you know, I wish like if only you love me, like you love getting high, you know, like
05:01this whole time, if only like you could, you could find it within yourself to like, you
05:05didn't have to do it for yourself.
05:06But like, if you could have done it for me, and I hate to sound selfish, but that's just
05:10kind of how addiction is.
05:11Like people, it's hard to see how it's affecting everybody else.
05:15And I was just kind of like talking to my dad, like, damn it, or sorry, like, dang it,
05:19dang it.
05:20If you could have just like, for a second, took a step back and been like, thought about
05:23your kids, or like thought about, you know, your grandkids or anybody but yourself, like
05:29in that moment, then I just think that he could have made it out of that.
05:33And yeah, that song was like, I originally I just wrote it for like myself.
05:36And it was like, it was healing.
05:38You know, it was like, it's almost like therapy, writing music is kind of like that for me.
05:43But yeah, and then after, after kind of putting the song out and seeing how it touched everybody
05:47else, that's really when it kind of hit me like, oh, like, first of all, it's really
05:51cool that I'm not alone in this, right?
05:53Like, it's really, really cool to hear other people be like, Oh, yeah, like, I've went
05:58through the same things, or I myself am addicted, or I wish you know, or even people might say,
06:03man, I heard this song, and I'm like trying to get clean now, or the song is helping me
06:06through like, a moment that right there, you know, it gives me goosebumps saying that
06:11that's really what makes the song now, you know, it started out as like therapy for me.
06:15But the fact that it's like turned into something for other people like that, and like therapy
06:19and just kind of like, you know, a song to help you get by or to like know that like,
06:23damn, like, dang, like a lot of us are going through this or a lot of people struggle with
06:26these same things.
06:27And you're not alone.
06:28It's like, it's, that's everything right there.
06:31And you know, none of us are untouched by alcoholism or addiction.
06:36You know, as you're like setting me tell, you know, telling me all this, it's hard to
06:39not become be overcome with emotion.
06:42You know what I mean?
06:43And especially for me and my own struggles and things like that, I really appreciated
06:48in this song, how I think it's in Z's verse where, you know, you're actually talking about
06:53how this is a disease, you know, and a lot of people don't necessarily understand that.
07:00And I think for you to be able to be this kind of voice and this beacon of hope for
07:04people is just so incredible.
07:07Yeah, I appreciate that.
07:08It's it's it's a I never want people to think like, I'm right here, like, I'm still the
07:15same person.
07:16I still struggle every day.
07:18I have hard days.
07:19I wake up sometimes and I don't feel as good as I did yesterday.
07:23And like, you know, there's days where I give in to, you know, my own temptations, not not
07:29not, you know, going back into my old habits or anything like that, but just giving it
07:33my own temptation.
07:34So I don't want anybody to ever think that I'm like, I made this song and I'm like over
07:38it and I'm like grown and I don't want to be some, you know, like I'm not I'm not a
07:43success story like that, but I'm in the same boat as everybody else trying to be a success
07:48story, right.
07:49And trying to really get out of my own, you know, get out of my own way and become somebody
07:53successful through like everything that I battle.
07:55So I'm so blessed that people take the song as as something like that.
08:01And they and they see they view me as that.
08:03But like, if I could tell everybody, like, I'm just like you.
08:07And like, I don't.
08:08This song is amazing.
08:09And it's like helping me through my life and it's helping other people.
08:12But it didn't just turn me into some like golden, golden child who just knows how to,
08:17you know, get rid of addiction or knows how to, you know, battles demons and just I don't
08:22I still don't have it figured out.
08:23Of course.
08:24Yeah.
08:25You're you're saying I walk with you.
08:26I walk amongst you.
08:28I understand how you feel.
08:30And sometimes that's, you know, that's really what helps all of us get through it and walk
08:35forward together.
08:36Sure.
08:37It's helping me a lot to see people, you know, like meeting people like you who say, yeah,
08:40I struggle too.
08:41And this helps me like getting in the same boat.
08:43It gives me goosebumps.
08:44Yeah, me too.
08:45Me too.
08:46And I think the first place that I actually heard I'd Rather Overdose was on Modson's
08:51Instagram when he added his verse to it.
08:54And I was like, oh, this is so amazing.
08:57And, you know, I've met Modson.
08:59He's so sweet.
09:00Such a good person.
09:01I'm so happy for all of his success.
09:03And then to see how quickly that came together with you saying, oh, he posted this verse.
09:08Now let's get together.
09:09Yeah.
09:10Put it out there.
09:11And so talk about that a little bit.
09:12Yeah.
09:13So so basically, I to run it back a little bit further, I had the song had been out for
09:18a few months and stuff.
09:20And I got on TikTok one day and I was just like listening to the song.
09:23And I just thought, like, it would be so cool to hear like a like somebody give a different
09:29take, like a remix.
09:31And I thought at first, I'm like, I want to try to get somebody to do a remix.
09:34And then quickly I was like, I realized I'm like, who am I?
09:37Like, I can't like I can't like text Jelly Roll and be like, hey, bro, will you do a
09:42remix of my song?
09:43So I put on TikTok.
09:44I'm like, hey, I'm going to do an open verse.
09:46I just want to hear what everybody's got to say.
09:48And so I did an open verse and I put it out there.
09:51And my son had actually followed me just a few days prior to that.
09:54And he had like text me.
09:55And I think I maybe I text the person after he followed me was like, dude, what's up?
09:58Like, you know, you're just like, you're so sick.
10:01And he was like, thanks, dude.
10:02I love what you got going on.
10:03And I texted him and I said, hey, man, I'm I did an open verse on this song.
10:08And it would just be crazy to hear your take.
10:10And I sent that to him directly.
10:11And he texted me right back and he was like, send me the MP3.
10:15So I sent it to him.
10:16I get on TikTok.
10:17I'm like kind of watching other people's verses.
10:20I mean, people did so great.
10:22There's a guy named Damien Stiles that he he did an amazing verse.
10:26A girl named Pixie did an amazing verse.
10:28Like so many different people did verses that were so touching and and and speaking their
10:35own story. And literally three hours after I text Maude, he posted a video of his own
10:39verse sounding great.
10:41Like he went to this. Oh, yeah, it sounded great.
10:44And, you know, it was it and it was the first time where the song had got spun into like,
10:49hey, man, you can make it out.
10:51He starts it out by being like, you know, hey, this is whenever I was in my worst addiction,
10:55dude. And it was five years ago.
10:56And look at me now. I'm freaking Maude's son.
10:59I am I'm doing I am living my life.
11:02I'm loving my life. I finally I finally decided I'm going to put it down because I love
11:06myself more than I love getting high.
11:08And it's and it was he posted it immediately.
11:12Millions of people were related.
11:15You know, we got in contact.
11:16It was obvious that we that we wanted to shoot a video just just from this first time
11:21that we talked, it was just like a natural.
11:22He's a cool guy. He's so, you know, and we just kind of click.
11:25So just just naturally, we just wanted to get together and shoot that video.
11:29I think as we started planning out in that day that I mean, we got together, what, like
11:34four days later or something?
11:35I'm not even sure. And then we came up with a video in 24 hours and they got everything
11:40for the video and we shot it and everything happened so quick.
11:43And I think during that time, just people related more.
11:46And a lot of people just kept talking about like as far as his verse goes, being like,
11:51wow, like thank you for this version, because like maybe I can get sober, maybe I can't
11:55get clean. This guy did.
11:56I heard this song before whenever, you know, the original song was like me and Z talking
12:00about like, you know, nobody's made it out of this.
12:03We're struggling. You know, this is if only you can love me like you love getting high.
12:06You know, my dad passed away from his struggles, you know, and we talk about that.
12:10And I referenced my brother passing away from his struggles, too.
12:13And we referenced that. And then Z talks about, you know, he's like, you know, he's
12:17talking about himself and saying, like, you don't realize it's a disease.
12:20This is this is like in you as a disease.
12:22This is not like something that you choose every day.
12:23This is like something that you have to continuously battle if you want it to get
12:26better. And and no medicine is just going to pull you out of addiction.
12:31This is like a mental battle.
12:33Daily reprieve.
12:34And every single day you got to work on it.
12:36And then to hear Mod's version and him for him to come out and give such a refreshing
12:40spin to where, you know, it's like, nah, you know, you can't get out.
12:45Yeah, that was my feeling, too.
12:46I felt like, oh, this is the resolution.
12:49Yeah, this is the resolve, you know.
12:51And I, too, was like, oh, this is so beautiful, you know, because there are those of
12:56us who, you know, make it out.
12:58But like you're saying, we got to work at it all the time, you know.
13:01But I think to to be able to let people know that you don't have to be stuck in this
13:07forever. There are solutions.
13:09There's ways that you can find help.
13:10And, you know, just for you to have for you to have that voice is is so amazing.
13:17I can't it's like it's even just to hear you say that voice, it's like I can't even put
13:22into words how like grateful I am for people to try to let me kind of like be the voice
13:27for, you know, the people in the middle.
13:29And like a lot of time, the people in the middle get forgot about.
13:32It's like and people in addiction get forgot about and they kind of get like pushed off
13:36to the side and you get looked down upon like like as if you're not as good as somebody
13:42else whenever really everybody's addicted to something.
13:45And it's if you meet somebody that's not addicted to anything, you know what I mean?
13:50Then then talk to that man or woman every single day.
13:53God bless. And talk to them every day and stay around them, because if you're not addicted
13:58to anything, whether it's, you know, drugs or it's alcohol or it's, you know, it's sugar
14:02or it's your phone or it's, you know, whatever you could be addicted to.
14:06It's like people struggle every day.
14:08And I think the people in the middle really kind of get shoved away a lot because they're
14:11like the voiceless. They're not coming from the worst situations and they're not coming
14:16from the best situations. And and, you know, just right in the middle where, you know,
14:21where you still struggle every day with your personal things, you know, but it might not
14:25be as like broadcasted as as somebody in a different position than you.
14:30I'm just stoked to be like the voice for those people, you know?
14:32Yeah, absolutely.
14:33It's crazy.
14:34And so, you know, you've put out a bunch of singles since twenty twenty one.
14:39Are you planning on putting together an album or, you know, because nowadays you can kind
14:44of just do the singles deal.
14:46But, you know, I love releasing singles.
14:48No, before twenty twenty one, I posted like two hundred songs on SoundCloud from like
14:52twenty sixteen to twenty twenty one.
14:54I posted like two hundred.
14:55So since twenty twenty one, I've probably posted like seventy or something.
15:00I keep on doing that.
15:01But I think I really am.
15:02I'm working on a on an EP.
15:04I'm trying to put a project together.
15:06If it was up to me, I would release a hundred songs today.
15:08Like I really promise you, I love making music and I love releasing it.
15:12And it's like it does something deeper for me than just like people hearing.
15:16It's like if you listen to my music, you can you'll really feel something.
15:20And it's not always a sad feeling, but it's not always a great feeling.
15:23But you definitely will feel something.
15:25And it's like it's the best therapy ever to write something for me feeling and then see
15:30other people connect to it.
15:32I'm working on like an EP right now.
15:34If it was up to me, I would have a hundred songs, like I said.
15:36But I know that every single song on that EP, people are going to feel it.
15:39And you're really going to kind of get a grip of who I am and where I came from.
15:43And after that, hopefully I drop five hundred more albums and they all have two hundred
15:47songs on them. Oh, absolutely.
15:49Yeah, because I there's I'm so, so, so blessed to be able to make music freely as I do
15:56now and for it to be, you know, like my job.
15:59Yeah. Yes. I'm just excited for people to hear what I've been working on.
16:02And an overdose is is a small sample of like my life and what I've went through and the
16:07music that I make. And I'm just stoked for people to hear the rest.
16:10I'm so excited to hear it, too.
16:12And and I always like to ask people this question just so we can put it out into the
16:16universe and see if it manifests.
16:18Because, you know, you just did this collab with Mod Sun.
16:21So who are a few of your dream collaborations?
16:26Oh, man. Alive, obviously.
16:28Yeah. Well, actually, yeah.
16:30Let's go with both.
16:31OK, this will be interesting.
16:33First, let's do Passed Away.
16:34OK, perfect.
16:35Three that I passed away.
16:36Sure. Definitely got to say Mac Miller, right?
16:38OK, yeah. One thousand percent.
16:40Um, Michael Jackson.
16:42Yes.
16:44Dude, a Michael Jackson song would be crazy.
16:47That would be incredible.
16:48I would love to do a Michael Jackson song.
16:50And then I would just it would be so sick to be able to do like a song with Kurt Cobain
16:54and Nirvana. Yes.
16:56And I think even just with him as a solo artist, that would be so sick.
17:00So those are my three passed away.
17:01OK, current.
17:02Let's go current.
17:04Current. Olivia Rodrigo.
17:05Hell yeah. Hell yeah.
17:07OK. You know, it would be really cool.
17:10I think it would be really cool to do a song with Jelly Roll.
17:13Yes. I think me and him can really make something that.
17:16His latest song on the Eminem album.
17:19Wait for that collab.
17:20Wow. Great. So good.
17:22Yeah. So good.
17:24And for my third person.
17:26So maybe like Sleepy Hollow.
17:30OK. I don't even know.
17:32He does hip hop. He like really raps.
17:33OK. Yeah. I don't know that I wouldn't really make a rap song probably, but I could
17:37make something melodic and he could get on it.
17:39OK, sure. I just listen to him a lot.
17:41So I mean, you're very genre bending, you know, which is amazing.
17:44I feel like you can go in so many different directions.
17:47Yeah. It's it's kind of hard to describe my music.
17:49It's really just like everything I listen to.
17:52Yeah. And like I was saying earlier, we all have such a broad musical taste, you
17:57know, we have access to so much music now.
17:59It's not like you're just alternative or you're just hip hop, you know.
18:02So, yeah, we're all influenced by all of this stuff.
18:04I would hate to be put in a box like that.
18:05Yeah, exactly.
18:06If I yeah, I would hate to be put in a box like that.
18:09I think music is just so not only is it subjective and it's different for everybody,
18:14but it's it's so like, you know, it's free.
18:18It's like water and you could just put it in any form.
18:20And it's, you know, I hate to be put in a box like to just be called something, you
18:24know, whether it be like alternative or country or hip hop.
18:27I think, yeah, it's just music stifles the creative process.
18:31So it's like just allowing yourself to be who you are and to be free.
18:35Yeah. And the last thing I want to ask you is about playing some live shows and doing
18:40a tour. I'm sure there's a lot of talk with that right now.
18:43Yeah. Oh, dude, I want to do a live show.
18:46So, yeah, I want to sing with everybody so bad and just like and yeah, but we're trying
18:54to plan something towards the end of the year to do like a lot of dates.
18:57I think I'm really trying to get this EP out and kind of show people where I'm at as far
19:02as like creatively and how my life has been going the last few months.
19:06And, you know, this EP will tell a story.
19:08And I think around that time, whenever that's coming out, hopefully I got dates signed up
19:12and I'm coming to your city and I'm singing and screaming.
19:15And I'm not even a good singer.
19:16So I'm not hitting notes.
19:20We're just vibes.
19:21It's like all vibes.
19:23But that's cool. We can do all.
19:24Well, I'm here for the vibes.
19:26And honest, Dave, I just want to thank you so much.
19:29Thank you so much for coming by K-Rock to hang out with me today.
19:31Dude, thank you for having me.
19:33So great. This is crazy.
19:34Yeah, for sure.
19:36Whenever we got in here, my friend said, he said, I feel like you're Joe Dirt.
19:41I like can't escape it.
19:42Yeah, I do love, I do love that.
19:46I love that.
19:48Thank you so much for having me.
19:50Thank you.