MTStreets – Highway To Hell

MTStreets Makes Music To Help People In Pain

MIAMI, Fla. — For about six years of his life, singer songwriter MTStreets struggled with drug addiction while watching drugs claim the lives of his friends.

Now music is this pop artist’s therapy as he uses his voice and studio to reach out and help others who continue to suffer.

“I make pop music for people in pain,” MTStreets said. “And there are a lot of broken souls out there. My songs benefit from the crazy hard life experiences I’ve had. Those experiences help me create music for people going through similar hard times. The arc of my songs moves from dark places to find hope. And the key message for listeners is often to make sure they know they’re not alone.”

His latest single, “Highway to Hell,” hones in on that period of life when MTStreets was in the throes of his addictive time, from the ages of 16 to 22.

“I was in and out of rehabs in California, New York, and Florida. I realized I was an addict and also had a serious problem with alcohol. With each passing year, I would distance myself a little farther away from my healthy friends and surround myself with people experimenting with various drugs, from marijuana to fentanyl and everything in between,” MTStreets said. “I was in a lonely downward spiral I couldn’t break away from no matter how hard I tried. It felt like I was traveling on a deadly dangerous road. And even though things were horribly messed up it also felt like I could do anything, as if I was invincible. Everybody around me thought they were invincible too, especially many of my friends who died. ‘Highway to Hell’ talks about how bad it was. The song’s lyrics zero in on the fact that it’s scary to ask for help, especially when it feels like you’re all alone, battling demons as you go through the worst times of your life.”

MTStreets said the lyrics and melody for “Highway to Hell” came to him after a shower at his dad’s house in New York last October. “It was one of those unexplainable moments when the universe started playing a song in my head. I was just drying my hair, and BAM, I could hear the bones of the entire song,” he said. “I remember it like it was yesterday. It was October 8th, and I was getting ready to leave for my big move to Miami. Rather than think about my flight or making sure I remembered to pack everything, I couldn’t get this song out of my head. All the way to the airport, the lyric was on repeat. As I checked in, went through TSA, boarded, took off, flew, and landed, I just kept hearing this song in a loop in my head. When I landed, I practically ran to baggage claim and then went straight to the studio. I was juggling seven bags of luggage, and all I cared about was getting in front of the microphone to record ‘Highway to Hell.’ My audio engineer asked me, ‘what’s up with all the luggage?’ I was just like, that doesn’t matter right now. The only thing that matters is recording this song so I can get it out of my head and bring it to life.”

MTStreets discovered his talents for music at an early age, around 8 years old, when he found his passion for the piano. The problem was he couldn’t read sheet music.

“My dyslexia made reading sheet music seem impossible,” MTStreets said. “I understood where the notes should be on a page, but in my brain, the notes moved all around. I would see an E instead of an F or a G instead of C. Everything looked weird on paper. Then one day when I was around eight years old, I went to a Disney movie with my family. When I came home, I hopped on the piano and with no sheet music, started playing the theme song from the movie. My dad saw and heard the whole thing play out. His grandmother had perfect pitch and a successful music career. Any song she heard she could play by ear on the piano. My dad suspected I might have a similar gift, and it turns out I do.”

As he grew up, and after working to overcome his drug demons, music became therapy for MTStreets.

“It’s a beautiful thing to sing about my pain and have it help other people,” he said. “I put my life on display in my songs. Hardships have helped me create music for people going through all kinds of hard times. The hard times for me were a gift and music turned out to be my therapy. When I’m feeling like I have a lot of unfinished or unresolved thoughts swirling around in my head, I play a song like ‘Highway to Hell’ and listen to it 100 times. The next thing I know, the thoughts that were stuck get released and I can move on. I can move past them.”

My intention in writing “Highway to Hell” was simple. I wanted to sing about my truth. I wanted to entertain people. And I wanted to encourage those who are hurting to get the help they need. Shortly after releasing the song, something mind-blowing happened. A stranger direct messaged me saying he listened to my song a bunch of times. He explained how he had hit rock bottom, felt lost, suicidal and completely alone. That’s when he wrote the sentences I will never forget. “Highway to Hell” feels like my song. It gave me the courage I needed to get help and to check into a rehab.”