Hip Hop & The Drug Culture: Marijuana

If there is one recreational drug that a good amount of Americans want legalized it’s the ever talked about controlled substance called marijuana. Known by the name of cannabis also, marijuana is a drug that’s universally used around the world by all ages, races, and countries on planet earth. Many current celebrities that are athletes and entertainers have been caught illegally possessing marijuana, and have made negative news press from doing such an act. Listening to music is one of the many activities that marijuana smokers partake in while experiencing a highness as a side effect. There have been many odes from every music genre to the woman called “Mary Jane,” which is a slang term for the substance. With hip hop rising as the latest form of musical expression in pop culture over the last 40 years, it’s only fitting as an art that it has a love connection with marijuana. There are various rappers who have had and still have a huge association with the drug. Marijuana along with other addictive substances is a tool and an ingredient that has played a part in the recording process of albums for rappers also. With the drug being very visible in the genre through lyric references, emcee’s photos, and rap videos, the impact of marijuana on hip hop is evident for everyone to see.

While rap music was growing into a distinct popular movement in the 1980s, marijuana didn’t play a major factor in the genre early on. Although people were smoking weed during this time, the content of rap music was still stuck on cocaine and heroin. Since hip hop comes from the streets, which is an environment where marijuana is commonly found, it’s only inevitable that rappers would gravitate towards the drug. Rap’s mainstream appeal continued to grow in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the arrival of “gangsta rap,” which was popularized on the West Coast. With the western region of the US being a go to area for weed consumption and growth, it only makes sense for their music to reflect the culture of smoking marijuana. Artists like N.W.A. and Ice-T, who put West Coast rap on the map nationally, conveyed and rapped about smoking marijuana in their songs and on rap videos as a commonality of California living. As listeners started to turn their ears toward the style of music on the left side, marijuana quickly became one of the main drugs to reference along with heroin and cocaine in the genre.

 

One pivotal hip hop album that’s sonically West Coast is the 1992 LP The Chronic. The album is the first solo project by the influential and former N.W.A. producer/rapper Dr. Dre. This quintessential body of work impacted both the urban and pop charts, and is arguably the first marijuana themed project. Chronic is a very powerful strand of marijuana that’s produced in California. So it only makes sense for Dr. Dre to give his first music project in the post N.W.A. era this name to indicate that he has the strongest material on the rap market. The album cover also pays homage to the Zig-Zag rolling papers for further promotion as a pro-weed project. The singles of “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang,” “Let Me Ride,” and “Dre Day” were all Top 40 pop hits from The Chronic in 1993. Having such huge records propelled the body of work to sell over eight million records worldwide solidifying Dr. Dre as a bankable solo producer/rapper. These songs and most of the LP showcased the talent of Dr. Dre’s rising star Snoop Dogg. The perception of Snoop Dogg right off the bat from his laid back rap style and weed references was that he was the ultimate chronic smoker. Snoop Dogg rode this wave of success from The Chronic by having one of the most anticipated debut albums of all time in mainstream music with Doggystyle in 1993. Doggystyle sold over 800,000 copies in its first week alone making it one of the highest selling LPs for a debut artist ever still to this day. One of the Top 10 pop hits on the project entitled “Gin & Juice” has the catchy lyrics in the chorus such as “rollin’ down the street, smokin’ indo, sippin’ on gin & juice.” Indo happens to be a slang term for a strong brand of marijuana that’s a crossbreed of Indonesian indica strains with western sativa. The back cover of Doggystyle also features Snoop Dogg with a joint in his mouth, which is a rolled marijuana cigarette. The success of Doggystyle along with Snoop Dogg’s productivity and maintained relevance throughout the 1990s, 2000s, and even now in the 2010s decade has made him the ultimate ambassador for weed. His huge visibility of smoking the drug on camera and on his music videos makes it hard for fans to not recognize his bond with cannabis. 

With the presentation of marijuana to mainstream America from the success of The Chronic, there was a floodgate of marijuana dedication records in rap throughout the rest of the 1990s. Every region in rap expressed their sentiments toward weed. One Mid West rap group that emerged in the mid-1990s who has made multiple odes to marijuana is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Their first melodic tracks for the drug were “Budsmokers Only” and “Buddah Lovaz” on their second album E. 1999 Eternal, which came out in 1995. Throughout the rest of their career they never shied away from advocating the substance. While Bone Thugs was making their impact on the rap game in the mid-1990s, on the West Coast there was the ultimate homage to marijuana that was heard on every radio station. The Luniz who was a rap duo from Oakland, California released their huge hit record “I Got 5 On It” in 1995. The song became a Top 10 hit on the pop charts, and is arguably the most memorable weed anthem of all time. During the same year, the East Coast duo Method Man & Redman put out their debut single “How High.” The song which also promoted marijuana reached the Top 15 on the pop charts, and presented the pair as a rap version of Cheech and Chong. Going back to the Mid West more specifically Chicago, the short lived rap quartet Crucial Conflict released the marijuana themed single “Hay” in 1996. The song was certified gold, and peaked at No. 18 on the pop charts. Southern lyricist Scarface put out the weed love song “Mary Jane,” which is the same title for Rick James’s 1978 hit record. Scarface’s professed affection for marijuana on this 1997 song has become a fan favorite for those who love his music. New Orleans native Mystikal, who was in his heyday commercially in the late 1990s-early 2000s, made a series of weed anthems on all of his studio albums for a smoker’s listening pleasure. Even the legendary Dr. Dre composed his 1999 comeback album 2001 also known as The Chronic 2001, which is a project that revitalized West Coast rap at the time. The LP had several marijuana references, and sold over 6 million copies in the US alone in the transition to the new millennium and 21^st Century in 2000. The album also further introduced the world to Dr. Dre’s protégé Eminem, who is the highest selling rapper of all time.

In the mist of the 2000s, marijuana continued to be a part of hip hop’s content. One hit wonder Afroman released his signature hit record “Because I Got High” in 2001. The song reached No. 13 on the pop charts, and is arguably the first catchy and impactful song about weed in the 2000s. During this same year the dynamic duo of Method Man & Redman added to their perception of being heavy weed smokers by starring in the stoner comedy film How High. The flick grossed over $31 million, and has become one of the more notable projects for the stoner comedy sub-genre. Respectable East Coast rapper Styles P emerged as a solo artist in 2002 with his debut album A Gangster And A Gentleman showcasing the popular single “Good Times (I Get High).” The record reached No. 22 on the pop charts, and is still Styles P’s biggest hit to date. Throughout the rest of the 2000s decade, emcees continued to have marijuana as a topic to rap about in plenty of songs. Rappers then and even now showcase themselves smoking the drug in a great abundance on music videos and on online vlogs.

In a current social climate where more people are advocating the legalization of marijuana in all states, rappers are still some of the ultimate spokespeople for the drug as celebrities. With the 2010s being in full effect, there has been a new crop of entertainers who are carrying the torch as rappers/weed smokers. The likes of Kid Cudi, Curren$y, and Mac Miller just to name a few are the ones who are keeping that bond between marijuana and rapper a never ending marriage. One particular person who is probably the new front runner for using weed recreationally is rapper Wiz Khalifa. In the earlier stages of his music career he wasted no time to associate himself with the substance. His acclaimed mixtape that garnered him his first bit of mainstream attention was Kush & Orange Juice, which was released in 2010. Kush so happens to be another potent strand of cannabis that’s very popular on the weed market for people who want a greater level of being high. This specific type of marijuana has been recently rapped about on numerous songs that you hear on the radio every day. So it’s only appropriate for Wiz Khalifa to use the word Kush in the title of his mixtape since smoking marijuana is prevalent to his subject matter. Kush & Orange Juice at the time of its release in the spring of 2010 became relevant in the music world by being the No. 1 search and trending topic on the popular mediums of Google and Twitter. The mixtape helped Wiz Khalifa land a major label deal with Atlantic Records by the end of the summer in 2010. Wiz Khalifa released his major label debut album in the spring of 2011 entitled Rolling Papers. The title of the project continued to portray Wiz as a weed enthusiast. Rolling papers is one of the few things and key ingredients used to roll up marijuana and smoke it actively. The first single off Rolling Papers which is “Black And Yellow” became a No. 1 hit on the pop charts, and helped the album to sell over 600,00 copies overall. To add to his legacy as an entertainer he hooked up with Snoop Dogg as a recording duo since weed is what he is very known for. With Snoop being an older artist it’s almost like he’s passing the torch on to Wiz, who is in his mid-20s, as someone to be very visible as a lover of marijuana. As a pair the two put out the direct-to-DVD stoner comedy similar to Method Man & Redman’s How High entitled Mac And Devin Go To High School in 2012. The movie was accompanied by a collaborative and soundtrack album by both artists. The lead single off the project called “Young, Wild & Free” is added to the long anthology of weed anthems in rap music’s history. The song reached the Top 10 on the pop charts, and was nominated for a Grammy earlier this year. Wiz is for sure an indication that marijuana won’t fade away as a topic to speak on content wise. 

With hip hop and marijuana being presented as something that has an everlasting bond, just maybe rappers can use their celebrity to help with the full legalization of the drug. Some of the most iconic and classic records within the genre probably wouldn’t have been recorded without the influence of the substance.