Turning Messages into Melodies + Some Sobriety - with Joey YAKTurning Messages into Melodies + Some Sobriety - with Joey YAK
The Elevate Experience
Hip-hop artist and entrepreneur Joey YAK shares his journey from substance-fuelled tour life to faith, family and sobriety, explaining how he now redirects his addictive energy into growth and purpose. The conversation focuses on choice, vulnerability, and practical tools for building a meaningful alcohol-free life.
55:00•26 Apr 2022
From Tour Buses to Sobriety: Joey YAK Turns Pain into Purpose
Episode Overview
- Sobriety helped Joey understand who he truly is and who he is not, something he says was impossible while drinking and using.
- He views alcohol use as a choice and a temporary solution to deeper problems, encouraging people to look for the real root of their drinking.
- Joey refuses to “play with fire” by drinking at all, knowing even one sip could quickly spiral back into chaos.
- His formula A + I = DR (Action plus Intention equals Desired Results) guides his daily decisions, from staying sober to being a better husband and father.
- Vulnerability and honest self-talk, especially for men, are highlighted as keys to healing, connection and lasting recovery.
“Drinking is not the problem, it’s the solution to the problem. You’ve got to dig deep and ask, why am I drinking?”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? This conversation with Studio CEO and hip-hop artist Joey YAK offers a raw, energetic look at swapping substances for self-development while still chasing big dreams. Joey shares how addiction ran through his family, from battle-rapping with his dad instead of watching Saturday morning cartoons to watching that same dad disappear into crack use.
He recalls early drinking, blackouts, and life on tour with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, fuelled by what he calls his “double A battery – alcohol and Adderall”. From the outside, he looked like he was living the dream. Inside, he says, it felt like “the worst nightmare”. You’ll hear how leaving Hollywood to return home to Hazelwood, Missouri, opened the door to sobriety, faith, and a new kind of hustle.
A hungover visit to church pulled him in through the music, and from there he became hooked on self-help books, personal growth, and the idea that alcohol isn’t a disease but a choice and a faulty “solution to the problem”. Joey talks honestly about being “all in or all out”, why he doesn’t “play with fire” by drinking at all, and how he now channels his addictive energy into being a present husband, father and business owner.
He and the hosts dig into the pressure to numb feelings, the power of vulnerability for men, and how music can either glamorise destruction or help people heal. Along the way, Joey shares practical tools, like his simple formula “A + I = DR” (Action plus Intention equals Desired Results) and challenges around ego, self-talk and being “ready for life”.
If you’re looking for straight-talking sobriety inspiration with a hip-hop beat and a lot of heart, this chat might be exactly what you need today. What action and intention are you choosing next?
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