A British hip-hop artist aims to inspire people living with addiction through a new single which chronicles his own journey with drink and drug addiction.

Milky, 30, from Brighton has just released ‘Monkey On My Shoulder’ through the record label We Are Not Saints, which works with musicians recovering from alcoholism and addiction. The not-for-profit label was launched in 2018 by Chris De Banks, himself a recovering addict.

The rising artist said he was passionate about reaching out to as many people as possible who have been through the same struggles as him. Milky’s latest song follows a similarly heartfelt debut single he released in June this year called ‘I Miss You Mum’, a tribute to his mother who died when he was seven years old.

Milky says:

I wrote Monkey on My Shoulder when I was battling with addiction. The addict in my head would creep back in and tell me “It’ll be different this time” and it never was. It would always be the same result.

I was always listening to that voice in my head and the voice was the monkey on my shoulder. Which if you are an addict or know someone who is, you’ll really relate to it.

We Are Not Saints said that the new track was proof that the artist was not afraid to put himself into his art and share his darkest moments with the world, adding the song “shines a broken light on the brutal battlefield of the addict’s pain”.

The record label is also known for hosting sober live events, which brings music lovers together with the recovery and sober communities to share the enjoyment of music made by their artists.

‘Monkey On My Shoulder’ is available on over 150 streaming platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Youtube, Deezer, and Soundcloud.

Listen to ‘Monkey on My Shoulder’ on SoundCloud at: https://soundcloud.com/wearenotsaints_uk/monkey-on-my-shoulder-milky/s-Ss43fHr72ft and watch the video for the single on Youtube below.

Photo by We are not Saints