Percocets. Molly, Percocets.
In a short time, a catchy chorus became a mantra, and that mantra captured a way of life; Rather, it confirmed hip-hop’s commitment to the use (or promotion of) narcotics.
This week’s article was inspired by Floyd Mayweather. In an interview he took part in earlier this week Floyd was quoted as saying:
“So you have to understand: rap has took a heavy turn. At one particular time in rap when it was all about the lyrics. You know, the beats — the lyrics. Now it’s …just a little different…In the music world, it’s okay. It’s okay to be a junkie. I mean, it’s crazy that it’s okay to OD on drugs. It’s okay to take any drugs now. It’s okay to be a junkie.”
And The inconvenient truth is Floyd Mayweather is right guys. Maybe Hip-hop fucked up. Maybe we made it cool to be drug addicts and maybe the culture has contributed to the destruction of a generation. Who’s to say for sure? Probably not us over at SnobHop, and certainly not Floyd. However his statement from a recent interview does echo a sentiment I’ve held for years:
THE DRUG RAPPERS ARE NOW THE DRUG USERS.
I know we said “it’s not for us at SnobHop to affirm” blah blah blah… but Floyd is right unequivocally in the sense that rap has shifted the paradigm from drug dealing being the height of cool to drug users being the considered great’s. And just like that, when you thought rap couldn’t get any further away from the days of Public Enemy & KRS-One, it has. Is that a really bad thing though? Ehhh, another convo for another day.
The point is that it’s problematic to be a supporter these days. Because with each new generation of rap you witness a steady decline. While the style remains fresh, the raps are often drunken high mumbles that your favorite rapper put together between sips of promethazine; And honestly, it wasn’t hard to see this coming.
Because, when Jeezy said Trap or Die we believed him wholeheartedly. And, when Wayne walked around with the styrofoam cup we knew what the tea was — we also know that it caused his rapping abilities to decline greatly after the Carter II.
However, for as critical as one can be about drug rap let’s be real, that shit is dope man (pun intended). And that fact alone makes it problematic to be a fan. It’s akin to smoking cigarettes. You know it’s bad but it’s so darn good. And often times you don’t recognize the damage it’s truly done to you until it’s too late.
Moreover, I suppose the resounding theme is that while on paper these rappers are all from different generations musically, drug rap is nothing new and with each generation, it evolves into something more sinister.
Trap… or Die?
If I was selling private prison as my flagship product Trap or Die would would be the greatest copy to ever be written. The copywriter would instantly become the senior art director and the graphic designer would become the subject of legend. Seriously.
Imagine creating a movement based around a dangerous and anti-social lifestyle and intending for it to be for a certain audience — specifically fellow trappers — but by happenstance, OR INCREDIBLE BRANDING, your main influence seems to be on children matriculating through the school system. While this unfortunate yet all to vivid reality to some, doesn’t present much of an issuer for hip-hops majority white audience because of it’s fictitious nature the issue really hits home in the homes of hip-hop listeners who more often than not have adequate parental supervision, a steady support system, and a desirable living situation; it’s in the homes of every Deshaun, Trey, Akeelah.
Trey chants Trap or Die. He believes life is really Trap or Die, and what’s worse is he might actually die believing that. I know my staff has seen it happen before, and I have colleagues who’ve witnessed this phenomenon too because the bottom line is that it’s less about what you say and more about what you do.
Dirty Soda in the Styrofoam
I know teachers who’ve had children come to school and attempt to pour up NyQuil. Yes, NyQuil. The reason? Clearly, because they wanted to sip on the dirty. Gold star if you can guess who their favorite rapper is!
The important questions are: Where did this behavior come from? Who normalized it? And how do you tell a young hip-hop fan this isn’t the way to go. Because, surely if this is happening in the school system, it’s a microcosm of urban communities subject to this same type of programming, right?
To the kids drugs kill and I’m acknowledging that, but when I’m on the drug I don’t have a problem with that -Lil Wayne
There Must Be Two Sides
This isn’t a condemnation of drug rappers individually but more an indictment of their messaging and lack of accountability. I think the onus is on us as fans to balance it out. For every song about mollies and perky’s there has to be two with the opposite message.
AND THE CONSCIOUS/NON DRUG DEALING/NON GANGSTA RAPPERS ARE NOT OFF THE HOOK. THEY HAVE TO MAKE BETTER MUSIC TOO!
Just keep in mind, while a lot of our favorites rappers claim to sip lean, do molly and smoke tree their young fans are watching, and more importantly, they’re imitating. The only difference though? Rappers can afford private school and your child can’t.
— SnobHop