OToole 1 Brendan O'Toole Writing Seminar II Research Paper Instructor: Ms.

Olding November 26, 2013 Research Paper Throughout this semester in Writing Seminar II Glam Rock and Popular Culture there has been discussion and analysis on how the three common themes of Glam Rock, sexual exploration, exploration of self, and drug exploration have all contributed a large amount of influence on the music and social culture from the 1960s to the present day. However, the most commonly noticed theme that has always had an enormous influence on music is the drug exploration. In the early years of music from just smoking a cigarette and to now doing a line of cocaine, all of which has been highly popularized, explored and referenced by the Hip-Hop/Rap music artist and corporation since primarily the early 1990s but specifically the 2000s. This research paper will examine how this common theme of drug exploration has influenced the Hip-Hop/Rap music industry and how it has also contributed influential actions to our culture. By examining the research on seven of the most popular figureheads of this music genre; Wiz Khalifa, T.I., Mac Miller, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Jay-Z and Juicy J. This paper will demonstrate how these artists are and have been heavily influenced by the common theme of drug exploration. According to Sarah Yang of UC Berkeley News, a recent study was conducted on how much of a difference of drug references were made in Hip-Hop/Rap music form 1979-1984.

OToole 2 Of the 38 most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1984, only four, or 11 percent, contained drug references. In the early 1990s, the percentage of rap songs with drug references experienced a sharp jump to 45 percent, and steadily increased to 69 percent of the 125 top rap songs between 1994 and 1997 (UCBerkeleyNews). This survey that was conducted shows the increasingly large influence and references that are being made by the Hip-Hop/Rap industry and are continually doing so by the increasingly statistical numbers (UC Berkeley News). With the increase in references there is also an increase in the types of drugs. The most commonly referenced and used types of drugs that are found within lyrics of Hip-Hop/Rap music and by the artists are marijuana, crack, cocaine, Xanax and codeine. Today Juicy J is one of the most popular and recognized rappers in the industry. He is also one of the most, if not the most, open about his broad drug use within his music. In songs like Get Higher and Zip, A Double Cup he references and describes his use of drugs. The song Get Higher references his use of marijuana, codeine and molly. He describes this in the very first line of lyrics, Take the blunt, dip it in the lean, then light it, Pop a Molly, drink some orange juice, get higher (from SongLyrics.com). In Zip, A Double Cup there are also lyrics that describe Juicy J using marijuana and codeine. For example A zip and a double cup Im gettin, Im gettin high as fuck and Ziploc bag of kush, double cup full of drink can all be heard repeatedly in this song (from SongLyrics.com). However, the most prominent line in the song is You say no to drugs, Juicy J cant. This emphasizes the blatant use of illegal drugs recreationally. Now seeing how the culture and common norm is today with this generation of people, it is

OToole 3 very common to find people trying to look like and resemble super stars. So when Juicy J says that line You say no to drugs, Juicy J cant people are going to take that literally and will do what he does (Song Lyrics). Having Juicy J being one of the oldest rappers in the industry, hes given influences upon his listeners and his fellow younger HipHop/Rap artists. In the article done by CNN Hip-hop highs: long on lyrics, short on rehab describes the influence of drugs on a rapper. This concept is explained through the 2009 Katie Couric interview with the famous rapper Lil Wayne to discuss his connection and influence with drugs. He explained that his song lyrics describe heavy drug use, which is a comparison to his actual life. He described his use of purple drank, which is a prescription drug of cough syrup that contains promethazine and codeine. According to Drugs.com this can cause harmful side effects to your body one side effect being uncontrollable movements of body parts (Drugs). Lil Waynes outspokenness of his involvement with that specific drug has helped explain his recent hospitalization and his publicist confirmed that he did suffer a seizure. (CNN) Lil Wayne expressed that he uses his experiences of drug exploration to help create and produce his music. Two songs that help to further explain are I Feel Like Dying and Rich As Fuck by Lil Wayne. In Rich As Fuck he raps And I got Xanax, Percocet, promethazine with codeine call me Mr. Sandman (Song Lyrics) (Rap Genius). In his song I Feel Like Dying Lil Wayne at the very beginning raps Only once the drugs are done then I feel like dyin, I feel like dyin (Song Lyrics) (Rap Genius). This explains and shows how large the influence of drug exploration has taken over the industry. He also adds Jumpin off of a mountain, into a sea of codeine referring to his

OToole 4 codeine addiction. He says I can mingle with the stars and throw a party on Mars, I am a prisoner, locked up behind Xanax bars meaning that he feels that he needs to take these drugs to be happy and normal. However, he also feels restraint to the drug that he has to take it and be with it. This connects with what was just explained above because he takes his personal experiences with drugs and integrates them into his music. The connection is mind blowing in that of the use of promethazine with codeine or purple drank is clearly found within the interview and in these specific songs by him (CNN) (Drugs) (Song Lyrics) (Rap Genius). According to the Huffington Post, the famous rap star Eminem has recently spoken out about this prescription drug addiction (The Huffington Post). Eminem explained that he was addicted to the prescription drugs Xanax and Valium. This is what caused him to land in the hospital where he found himself in a life or death situation. This was because these drugs started to cause his vital organs to shut down. After being released from the hospital and becoming sober from prescription drugs, he explained that he never thought that a person could ever be truly happy if they were not on some type of drug. He further described that in the process of becoming sober his biggest influence to stop was his children. In the song by Eminem, Going Through Changes, it describes what he was going through when he is trying to become sober from his prescription drug abuse. In the song, he raps Marshall what happened to you, you cant stop with these pills which tells us about his abuse of prescription pills and the connection between his personal and professional life. This song is a clear indication of the exploration of drugs that Eminem has been associated with and has obviously made a large influential impact on his music career (The Huffington Post) (Song Lyrics).

OToole 5 In 2010, Wiz Khalifa hit the top of the charts when he became a part of the main stream Hip-Hop/Rap culture, however, later that year he was arrested following a performance. He was charged by local police in Greenville, North Carolina for trafficking, maintaining, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia of marijuana. He explained that he used to spend around $10,000 every month on marijuana according to Gil Kaufman writer for MTV.com. Wiz Khalifa is one of the most flamboyantly open rappers about his use of marijuana either through his music, social media and interviews. In his song On My Level he explains his use of marijuana and how it puts him on is level. He says big joint rollin describing the use of the drug, the marijuana loud so them hos follow her like twitter. The entire song explains that smoking marijuana and drinking will allow him, and supposedly others also, to become on there level and he majorly promotes the use of illegal narcotics and the irresponsible use of alcohol (Song Lyrics) (MTV). In a recent interview with to the famous Hip-Hop/Rap artist T.I. he explains how he became addicted to prescription painkillers. He discussed that in 2010 he went through a succession of dental surgeries that year and, he was given a series of drug prescriptions of hydrocodone and oxycontin to help ease the pain that he went through during and after the operations. T.I. explains that he was given about 80 pills of both drug and he would use the left over pills to become high. In his song 56 Bars he raps about selling drugs, taking drugs, and avoiding the possibility of going to jail. In the song he raps doper than heroin and Im so high both of these lyrics express the use of the drugs, which links his personal and profession lifes. This connection resembles the influence of the rappers

OToole 6 personal life of taking and trying drugs to the heavy influence of drugs on the HipHop/Rap industry (The Huffington Post) (Song Lyrics). The young rapper named Mac Miller proclaimed abusing prescription drugs soon after his debut album came out Blue Slide Park. The album was so popular and hit the top of the charts in popularity but with that came negative criticism that became too unbearable for Mac Miller to handle. He turned to using the most commonly used and abused drug within the Hip-Hop/Rap music industry, promethazine with codeine or also known as lean and purple drank. He states that while on a cross-country college tour that he was constantly abusing it even while preforming. He further explains how much he loved drinking it because it made him happy and that in the midst of his abuse his friends refused to be around him. He used his music to help allow himself to freely speak about his use of drugs and in his song Someone Like You. He explains that That fentanyl it numb me. Fentanyl is one of the most powerful opiates to take; its use is to help kill the pain people go though such as cancer. In this situation, just like all the ones before it, helps explain and demonstrate that the intake of illegal or non-prescribed drugs have influenced and made a solid foothold within the creation of Hip-Hop/Rap music. Due to which is the extreme abuse and exploration of drugs that these and many other go through (Billboard) (Song Lyrics). Jay-Z, one of the most notable and decorated Hip-Hop/Rap artists of all time, also uses references to drugs even though he has never claimed or been accused of using. However, he has been open about his past where he proclaimed he was a drug dealer. He uses and references his past influences of dealings drugs in his music and now having a child of his own tries to not refer to such things as frequently. However, in recent years

OToole 7 he released the song Empire State of Mind which became one of his more popular songs. In the song he raps, MDMA got you feelin like a champion, the city never sleeps but itll slip you an Ambien. This lyrical line refers to two common, dangerous drugs which are MDMA (ecstasy), a drug that controls the central nervous system, and the drug Ambien, which is a sedative that affects the brain causing problems sleeping. This is interesting and a bit ironic because, while Jay-Z has never claimed or been accused of using drugs and tries to not refer to them in his music, it just so happens that when this song came out it became one of his most well known and popular songs that he has produced, refers to drug use. This reference shows that when people hear this kind of music they enjoy it and it influences them, which in effect influences our culture (Drugs) (Song Lyrics) (The Huffington Post). In recent interview done by NPRs Ed Gordon with David Jernigan and Denise Herd, they discuss the large influence and references from Hip-Hop/Rap music to the use of alcohol. In the interview, they talk about how that in the early ages of Hip-Hop/Rap music, in the late 80s and very early 90s, the music contained little to no references to the usage and consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs. However, now in just about every Hip-Hop/Rap song that is played there is a reference to the usage of alcohol and illegal drugs. Many people do not even realize that they hear it due to the high exposer they have to music in this day and age. The interview further expanded on the fact that this is a societal problem coming from the Hip-Hop/Rap music industry, due to the high amounts of exposer this type of music has to the African American youth. This music can/will cause an influence of drug use upon this generation because they idolize these

OToole 8 artists for what they have done, causing a negative influence culturally and within this society (NPR). The Hip-Hop/Rap music industry tries to use their music that is generated to promote a specific type of life and a story. These songs that try to portray this lifestyle all have a common origin; in that they all try to focus on the rich or poor American Gangster who is making a living by selling drugs or being a pimp, which tries to glorify the usage and sale of drugs, violence, and immoral sexual actions. Just as stated before, this generation today tries to imitate what they see and hear within there own lives. Having Hip-Hop/Rap becoming increasingly popular everyday towards the youth of our society, the question of this music influencing the youth needs to be brought to the worlds attention. This type of music promotes every wrong doing that any family member or parent would agree upon. Throughout this semester in Writing Seminar II Glam Rock and Popular Culture there has been discussion and analysis on how the three common themes of Glam Rock; sexual exploration, exploration of self, drug exploration have influenced musical and social culture from the 1960s all the way to the present day. However, in conclusion with the recently provided research that has been conducted, it is easy to say that one of the common themes of Glam Rock, drug exploration, has definitely played a major role within the Hip-Hop/Rap music industry. The facts have been given, the stories have been told, the thought of drug exploration having a overwhelming influence on this industry cannot be denied. By all the references that have been made and through all the interviews that have been given. There is no doubt that drug exploration is a problem that needs to be corrected.

OToole 9 Citation/ Bibliography Page France, Lisa Respers, Denise Quan, Eliott McLaughlin, and Abbey Goodman. "Hip-hop Highs: Long on Lyrics, Short on Rehab." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. "Promethazine." Information from Drugs.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. "Lil Wayne: GQ Music Issue 2011: The Survivors." GQ. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Duke, Alan, and Carolyn Sung. "Rapper Too Short Busted in Hollywood." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Mosbergen, Dominique. "Eminem Admits Prescription Drug Addiction Almost Killed Him: 'My Bottom Was Gonna Be Death'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 June 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "Juicy J - Get Higher Lyrics." SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "Juicy J - Zip, A Double Cup Remix Lyrics." SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. "04.01.2008 - New Study Finds Glamorization of Drugs in Rap Music Jumped Dramatically over Two Decades." 04.01.2008 - New Study Finds Glamorization of Drugs in Rap Music Jumped Dramatically over Two Decades. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. "Wiz Khalifa Arrested On Drug Charges." - Music, Celebrity, Artist News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. "Wiz Khalifa - On My Level Lyrics." SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. Lil Wayne Rich as Fuck Lyrics. SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

OToole 10 Eminem Going Through Changes Lyrics. SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. Neal, Meghan. T.I.: Drug Problem Started with Prescriptions. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 22 Nov. 2010. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. T.I. 56 Bars (Intro) Lyrics. SongLryics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov.2013. Mac Miller Turned to Drugs After Blue Slide Park Criticism. Billboard. N.p.,n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Mac Miller Someone Like You Lyrics. SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Gordon, Ed. Study: Rap Music Linked to Alcohol, Violence. NPR. NPR.com. National Public Radio, 8 May 2006. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Lil Wayne I Feel Like Dying Lyrics. Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Ambien Search Results. Page 1 of about 4464 Results. Ambien Search Results. Page 1 of about 4464 Results. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Mdma Search Results. Page 1 of about 173 Results. Mdma Search Results. Page 1 of about 173 Results. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Jay-Z Empire State Of Mind* Lyrics. SongLyrics.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. Duca, Lauren. Jay Z Talks Drug Dealer Past, Calls Blue Ivy His Biggest Fan And Says Bey Is Gangsta In Vanity Fair. The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 01 Oct. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

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