BREAKING THE CHAIN is a raw, emotional, unapologetic blues-rock anthem about finding your voice, reclaiming your emotions, releasing years of silence, and discovering the freedom to be completely yourself.
 
Written and created by Julie Jewels Smoot under her fiercely independent musical identity, Author Honey Badger, this song explores what happens when a woman finally stops holding back her tears, suppressing her anger, and apologizing for the emotions living inside her body.
 
Because crying is not weakness. Anger is not shame. And speaking your truth is not something that requires permission.
 
Driven by soulful electric guitar, a growling Hammond B3 organ, powerful drums, gritty female vocals, and emotionally charged spoken-word declarations, Breaking the Chain begins in vulnerability and builds into an explosive celebration of personal freedom.
 
This song is for every woman who has been told to be quiet, smile through the pain, forgive before she was ready, or make herself smaller to protect somebody else's comfort.
 
It is for survivors who are reclaiming their voices.
 
For women learning to trust their emotions.
 
For those discovering that tears can coexist with strength, compassion can coexist with boundaries, and healing does not have to look the same for everyone.
 
MY TEARS ARE NOT WEAKNESS.
MY ANGER IS NOT SHAME.
MY SILENCE WAS NEVER CONSENT.
 
At the heart of this anthem is a powerful declaration of emotional sovereignty.
 
You are allowed to cry.
You are allowed to grieve.
You are allowed to feel anger.
You are allowed to laugh, rest, move, breathe, and experience joy.
You are allowed to speak your truth even when your voice shakes.
 
And you do not owe anyone a more comfortable version of your experiences.
 
Breaking the Chain also reflects the connection between sound, movement, emotional expression, and embodiment. Sometimes finding your way back to yourself happens through a gentle breath or the resonance of a gong. Sometimes it happens through tears. And sometimes it happens through a screaming electric guitar and a powerful rock anthem.
 
SOMETIMES HEALING IS A BREATH. SOMETIMES IT'S A GONG. SOMETIMES IT'S TEARS. AND SOMETIMES IT'S A FUCKING ROCK SONG!