“A Different Kind of Villain”: Meet Heath Mays

Gods Only Villain is a striking stage name that belies a deeply personal story rooted in faith and resilience. Hailing from Paducah, Kentucky, G.O.V. channels his life experiences into powerful songs that resonate emotionally. His upcoming album, Good For Nothing, set to drop on Halloween, features collaborations with Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane, and, the artist asserts, he believes  its poignant content could “save lives.” 

In this episode of “10 Minute Chats,” G.O.V. opens up about the life experiences that have shaped his music.

— Let’s start with “Gods Only Villain". How did you choose that name?

— A lot of people think it might be evil, but it’s actually not. Everyone has their own beliefs, but for me, it’s like… if you’ve ever seen The Book of Eli, it’s kind of like that. In the movie, God sends a mercenary to rid the world of all the bad. So, God’s villain in that sense. It’s not meant to be negative at all.

I used to go by Governor, that used to be my stage name, and my friends called me 'Gov,' and over time, it evolved into God’s Only Villain.

— You’ve traveled a lot and performed with artists like Kevin Gates and G-Eazy. Tell us more about that part of your life.

— I’ve been an opening act for some headlining artists. I played my hometown of Paducah, Kentucky, where we sold out the biggest venue with Kevin Gates during his I Don’t Get Tired tour. I’ve done tour dates with him and with G-Eazy in Atlanta, just all over really.

— How did you first start making music?

— It’s a funny story. I’ve always loved rap growing up, you know. I grew up on Eminem. When I was in college, I got kicked out of the fraternity I was in, and I was so pissed off that I wrote a diss song about them. I let my small group of friends hear it, and they were all like, “Man, you need to do this for a job.” After that, I decided I was going to be a rapper, dropped out of college, and started rapping.

— Your song "Never Alone" feels very emotional and personal. What was its inspiration?

— I wrote the first part of it before I went to rehab, and the second part after I got out. The song came from this place of desperation, like I was at the end of my rope, and it was a now-or-never kind of situation. If it didn’t work out, I was ready to walk away and focus on other things, like my kids and my family. But I’m stubborn—I just refuse to quit. So, that song is really about pushing through when you’re at your lowest, when you feel like you’ve got nothing left. It’s that last-ditch effort before you throw in the towel, you know?

— What can you share about your upcoming album and who’s been involved in making it?

— My album comes out on Halloween. It's called Good For Nothing. And it's, man, we sank our entirety into it. I've got Lil Wayne, Gucci Mane and some other big appearances on it. The guy producing it is Tyler Thomas over at Red Cap Studios. He’s been a huge part of making this album what it is. 

It’s that album that’s so good, it would be a shame if it doesn’t get into the right ears, hands, and the people it needs to, to make an impact. It’s very emotional and, honestly, I believe the content could even save lives. It's my life's work. 

— Did you put a lot of your personal story in it? 

— I did. There's a story of the tornadoes that destroyed my family's home. After that, my grandmother had to live in an RV, and one night, my dad was trying to unfreeze the pipes under the RV when a spark caught the whole thing on fire. We lost her and my little cousin in that fire.

There’s a song about my mother, my kids—it touches every aspect of my life, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

— How did you find out about ISINA?

— Honestly, I just stumbled across it one night while I was doing some research. I saw the mentors on the platform—people like Chris Lord-Alge, who I’ve looked up to for a long time. I actually use his plugins when I make music, so that caught my attention. It also seemed like a new platform at the time, which I liked because it wasn’t flooded with a bunch of people yet. I figured if I got in early, I might have a better chance of standing out. I’ve always felt like it’s important to find opportunities when they’re still fresh, and ISINA felt like that for me. So I gave it a shot, and here we are.