Last Friday, May 17, Nashville-based, platinum recording artist Ron Pope released his introspective new single: "I've Gotta Change (Or I'm Gonna Die)," now out via Brooklyn Basement Records.
This song is a follow-up to Pope's earlier single this year: "I'm Not The Devil," ft. Taylor Bickett. Both will be included in the artist's next yet-to-be-named album, slated for a 2025 release.
Ron Pope on Why He Made 'I've Gotta Change'
According to Pope, he had a serious back injury several years ago and was rendered unable to work. However, having apprehensions about pain medication, he eventually chose to just "white-knuckle" his way through the ordeal and relied on other ways to manage the pain.
"I'm lucky that I had access to physical therapy and the resources to survive for the months when I couldn't go to work. Not everyone has those options," shared Pope. "I know people who've been swallowed up by the opioid epidemic, just like I'd imagine everybody else in this country does."
Pope added that his apprehensions are mainly rooted in how a "gang of billionaires" were able to intentionally bend the truth to doctors by saying these medications were "safe and non-habit forming.
For him, these entities might as well be from the "cartel," especially how they "killed millions of people and got tens of millions addicted to drugs" and got away with it.
"Not only did no one go to jail," he continued, "these crazy rich folks are still crazy rich. When someone has ten billion dollars, fining them six billion dollars is meaningless. It doesn't make a material difference in their lives. All of that infuriated me,"
Despite describing himself as usually not a "topical writer," he said that this was something he had been meaning to write about, impassionately saying: "These people should be in prison and every dollar they have should be put back into the communities they destroyed."
You can stream "I've Gotta Change (Or I'm Gonna Die)" now on all major streaming platforms by clicking here. You can also watch the official visualizer for the single right below.
