Mainstream rappers have spoken candidly about topics such as alcoholism symptoms anxiety and depression to raise awareness and eliminate stigma. Denny Kolsch, an Orlando-based mental health counselor who specializes in addiction and mood-related disorders, says that socioeconomic factors may be another reason African-American rappers allude to drug use in their music. Since the 1980s, rappers have referenced substance use in lyrics.
- On the other side you have those rappers who really were about that life before and sometimes during their Rap days.
- Among the claims, he said Drake had secretly fathered second child, and was addicted to gambling, sex and drugs.
- Others have expressed concern about drug culture, emphasizing the negative consequences, including addiction.
- He’s battled with cocaine and crack addiction, among other things, and it’s sent him to jail almost 30 times.
- When a patient arrived addicted to heroin, Nyswander would carefully switch him over to methadone, gradually decreasing the dose over the course of two weeks until he was no longer taking any opioids at all.
- He told him that his music had inspired him to try out the “lean” (prescription-level codeine cough syrup and soda) highlighted in the older MC’s songs (Staff).
How Alcohol Mentions in Rap Music Can Influence Youths
Among the 38 most popular rap songs from 1979 to 1984, about 11 percent contained drug mentions. Nineteen percent of songs in the late 1980s that were included in the study made references to substance abuse. J. Cole’s KOD album even explored the severity of drug abuse and addiction. Unfortunately, drug use in hip hop is nothing new, as we have lost talents like Pimp C, Mac Miller, and Juice WRLD to overdoses.
History Exposes a Crucial Flaw in RFK Jr.’s Vision for Treating Drug Addiction
- Dro shared that the discovery pushed him to check himself into rehab in 2021 and has stayed clean since.
- As a youth, Lecrae earned the nickname “Crazy Crae” for his wild drunk stunts.
- “Overdose amongst rappers and Americans in general has become an epidemic, unfortunately,” she tells XXL.
- “Lean,” which consists of promethazine, codeine, and Sprite, has become the drug o’ choice for more rappers than you might think.
- Last year, TDE’s most underrated Isaiah Rasahd also spoke out about the perils of lean addiction.
The list of rappers who’ve succumbed to drugs features a spectrum of artists. Gucci Mane is one of several rappers who didn’t quit their addiction because of their time in rehab. Although he spent time there and admitted that it was great for him, the rapper stated, “I was ordered to go by the court, so it didn’t stop me.” Mane had a rough childhood and had struggled with drug addiction for some time. However, he did not put much effort into fighting it until 2014. I knew I couldn’t have drugs in my life,” Gucci Mane shared with the finance publication Money.
Can listening to music about addiction be triggering?
Around this time, rap songs praising marijuana use began to experience commercial success. Then other rappers, including Dr. Dre, started positively portraying smoking cannabis in their music and during interviews. Rap music may have affected adolescent substance use in Texas. For years, rap music has glorified substance use, portraying getting high as an activity with little consequence. Although this trend continues, more rappers today are using their platforms to spread awareness for addiction and mental illness.
- Gucci Mane is one of several rappers who didn’t quit their addiction because of their time in rehab.
- African American and Native American people had the highest rates of fatal overdoses in 2021.
- And while it’s alarming enough when a grown-ass-man dives into the depths of addiction, the fact is, these kids are sixteen and seventeen years old.
- The artist lost his mom to a drug overdose in 2009 and has used “How Could You Leave Us” as a way to pen a letter to her about how her passing impacted him.
- One small 2024 study of 15 formerly incarcerated people found that music, similar to group support, could help listeners feel understood.
To combat the influence of rap music on teen drug use, Herd recommended that parents monitor their children’s music. She said learning slang terms — such as “angel dust,” code for PCP — could help parents better detect their children’s substance use. Jellyroll doesn’t shy away from his personal relationship with substance abuse in his discography. But Winning Streak tells a story inspired by an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. Ed Sheeran wrote this soft folk ballad after volunteering at a homeless shelter when he was 18.
Addiction Themes in Music
That extra support can provide catharsis or motivation no matter where you are in your recovery journey. One look at Chynna and it’s easy to see why she inked a deal with the prestigious Ford Models agency at 14, after being discovered in between rollercoaster rides at New Jersey’s Six Flags Great drug addict rappers Adventure. But have a conversation with her, and it’s just as clear to see how a life of silent beauty would have never been enough—a disservice, even. She’s both thoughtful and forthright, exuding an around-the-way genuineness.
- At only 26 years old, the young singer undoubtedly should have had far more time to continue creating music and inspiring others.
- Eminem has spoken candidly about his past struggles with substance use.
- However, artists have openly discussed their experiences with substance abuse in their music and public interviews over time.
- Popular songs with a positive message about recovery include Sober by Pink, Staring Over by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and Winning Streak by Jellyroll.
Following Demi Lovato’s public overdose in July of 2018, the singer released a documentary detailing exactly how her drug and alcohol use began and developed into an addiction that almost took her life. The music video recreates some of the moments leading up to and following her overdose and shares the dangers of substance abuse with the audience. Lovato’s transparency has been monumental for many fans who have come forward to open up about their own struggles and how the artist’s discussion has been empowering for them as they seek help. This kind of transparency in music is what can help create understanding for kids and adults who don’t fully understand the effect drug use can have on a person’s body and mind. In Juice WRLD’s case, representation of drug use in music influenced the start of his battle with addiction. In an interview with Billboard, the rapper shared about the first time he met his hip-hop hero Future.