The memories of a little boy who grew up too fast are still vivid in Lucky Matt's mind.

The little boy witnessed alcoholism and domestic violence. His dad was absent, away and incarcerated. His mom was in an abusive, toxic relationship. At night, the scared little boy would quietly listen to substance-fueled arguments that often led to items being thrown and smashed into walls and floors.

Although that little boy saw and heard too much at a tender young age, it's that very trauma that set Matt on his path to break the cycle.

"I just want to change that way of life so my kids don’t live like that and my kids’ kids don’t live like that," Matt, 20, of Worley, said Tuesday.

The 2024 Lakeside High School graduate harnessed the pain of his younger years and used his creative talents to weave a profound story of resilience in his new song, "Cycle Breaker," which was released Jan. 1 on Spotify.

The idea began to formulate in November, but Matt wasn't sure how to articulate the song that would soon spring forth.

"Nothing was coming to mind," Matt said. "Usually I write about love and heartbreak."

A friend encouraged him to write something his listeners would relate to.

"Here on the Rez, I couldn't think of anything better to relate to," said Matt, a Coeur d'Alene Tribal member. "Everyone sort of has the same childhood around here."

It took a few days before the ink and lyrics began to flow.

"I don't know what made my mom come to mind," Matt said. "I spent a lot of time with her when I was little. Her boyfriend she had was super abusive. I could remember it all clearly when I started writing."

Matt's lyrics allow listeners to see through the frightened eyes of his young self: "Microwaves crashing like grenades in the middle of a fight."

They also offer hope: “I’m just trying to break the cycle that we’re stuck inside/Trying to be the one who stands instead of runs and hides."

He discusses the love and support he received from his relatives, who took him in and encouraged him to go to school: "Papa told me, ‘Listen, the world hits you hard as hell, but you made it through the places where the strongest people fell.'"

And how he wants a better life for his three little brothers, who are much younger than him: "Trying to build a life that ain’t controlled by the bottle/Trying to prove a kid with trauma still can be a role model."

"It felt good to write it and sing it at the same time," Matt said. "It felt like I was finally getting it off my chest."

He sent the song to his mom after it was released and told her she didn't have to listen to it if she didn't want to.

"She listened to it and she said it made her cry," he said.

Although it hurts, he needed his story told.

"I was bringing that story to life," Matt said. "It makes me feel good because I come from a line of alcoholics and drug addicts and stuff."

The path was not easy for Matt as he navigated a rocky upbringing. His world forever changed when his grandfather, with whom he was extremely close, died in early 2025.

"After that, I fell into a deep hole," Matt said. "But one thing that helped me was finding God and starting my faith in God. I got baptized after my grandpa died. I don’t know what made me do it. I went to see the pastor in De Smet and asked if he could baptize me and that took me on a journey."

Another song the young artist released Thursday is called "God Save Me."

“It's about my whole journey with God, from where I started when I was stuck and couldn’t see anything in the future," Matt said.

Matt, who comes from the ancestral line of Coeur d'Alene Chief Morris Antelope, has a penchant for storytelling and songwriting, both of which he has dabbled in since he was a young high schooler. He released his first song in 2023.

Lakeside High School Principal Carly Green was briefly one of Matt's teachers but knew him well when he was a student.

"When he was in school, he always talked about wanting to rap or be a musical artist," Green said.

Some of his earlier songs are a bit gritty and have explicit lyrics. "Cycle Breaker" contains a couple of milder ones, but when Green first heard it, she thought, "Oh, this is different."

"I was in tears," she said. "I was on my way to Plummer, a 30-minute drive, and I listened to it the entire drive."

She brought a Bluetooth speaker into a staff meeting so her colleagues could hear what their former student had accomplished.

"I was like, 'You guys have got to hear this song,'" Green said. "I played it for the staff, and then I cried in the staff meeting."

She shared it with staff in an email and posted it on the Plummer-Worley Joint School District Facebook page.

"This is what resilience looks like," she posted. "Lucky Matt, one of our alumni from the class of 2024, recently released 'Cycle Breaker,' a song about overcoming childhood trauma, finding safety and support and choosing to lead by example for the next generation.

"We are incredibly proud of Lucky for using his voice and his story to make a difference. It takes courage to turn lived experience into art — and even more courage to use it to inspire others. 

"Lucky, your teachers and staff are cheering you on and celebrating how far you’ve come."

Matt is studying communications at Spokane Community College. He wants to go to Georgia Southern University to study creative writing, then return to North Idaho to work for the Tribe's natural resources department while continuing to write songs and books on the side.

"My life has taken me in a good direction. I've got options now," he said. "I got school right now, and that’s working out pretty good, and the rapping part, that’s working out. Making music, that’s going good, and writing now, that’s another way of life I can go, too."

He said he wants his little brothers to know someone will always be there for them when they struggle, even if they don't realize it.

He is determined to stay in school and build something better for the kid he was at 5.

"I'm going to push as hard as I can to get my degrees, for my ancestors, for my grandpa, for everyone who never got to do that," Matt said.

Listen to "Cycle Breaker" on Spotify: spotify.com

    Lucky Matt, a 2024 Lakeside High School graduate and Coeur d'Alene Tribal member, recently released a song on Spotify that discusses overcoming childhood trauma and breaking out of generational cycles. The Lakeside school community is proud of its alums.
  

    Lucky Matt, right, age 4 or 5, is seen here with his dad, Joseph Matt Jr. Lucky, now 20, recently released a song on Spotify recounting traumatic experiences of his childhood and how he is determined to overcome them to lead a healthy, happy, productive life and be a role model for his younger brothers and peers.