20 Rappers Who Overdosed: Tragic Stories of Those Taken Too Soon

While some rap artists examined in the analysis promoted alcohol use, others stressed the dangers of heavy drinking. In February 2016, rapper Macklemore released “The Unruly Mess I’ve Made,” a record in which addiction is a recurring topic. A few months later, he met with President Barack Obama at the White House to discuss the realities of this disease. The band returned home from Sundance before the award was rappers on drugs announced, but they’d already made quite the impression. Not only with the film – described by the festival as “a wild, ketamine-laced ride from start to finish, punctuated by songs, touches of animation, and voiceover narration by Óg Ó hAnnaidh” – but with their stunts. They brought a PSNI (Northern Ireland police force) Land Rover with them, and found a place called Provo to have their picture taken with it.

Through the years, various high-profile rappers have entered rehab for substance abuse or mental health problems. 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. Rap music may have affected adolescent substance use in Texas. Denise Herd, author of the University of Pittsburgh study, told The Washington Post that references to prescription cough medicine misuse in southern rap music may have influenced teens in Houston to abuse codeine-laced cough syrup. His team found that about 33.7 percent of rap songs on the Billboard charts contained at least one reference to alcohol. The rappers with the most alcohol mentions in their Billboard Hot 100 music during that time period were Flo Rida, Drake and Lil Wayne.

Dear Abby: I think meditation is fine as a hobby, but it has taken over her life

Rave, rebel songs and great tunes, all still central to what Kneecap are about. It isn’t uncommon to see rappers dribbling and falling asleep during interviews, or enthusiastically posting pictures with prescription pills on the tip of their tongue on Instagram (as Lil Peep did just hours before fatally overdosing on his tour bus). Meanwhile, Drake, still arguably the biggest rapper on the planet, nonchalantly referenced taking Xans to help him get to sleep on one of the biggest rap songs of the decade. One problem lies in the way these rappers’ careers have built with unprecedented speed.

• It seems more likely, however, that violent crime was reduced by several other factors including an improved economy.
• Many rappers who grew up around drugs have positively portrayed substance use in their music.
• Erik Ritland is a songwriter, musician, journalist, and podcaster based in Nashville, Tennessee.
• For many people, Xans were a way to cope with these pressures, and rap was the soundtrack.
• He was 21 when he first sipped “lean” — a drink made from mixing prescription cough syrup containing the antihistamine promethazine and the opioid codeine with soda, Jolly Rancher candies and ice, served in doubled-up Styrofoam cups.

Music publication Okayplayer said Run-DMC wasn’t trying to appease rock-loving white audiences; the three were trying to one-up the bombast of Billy Squire’s 1980 hit “Big Beat.” They were planting a flag for hip-hop’s vitality. In May, a third defendant, Jay Bryant, 49, was charged with murder after prosecutors said they had proof he was also at the recording studio the night of the slaying. A jury found two men guilty of murder in the killing of hip-hop icon Jam Master Jay in a New York City recording studio in 2002, federal prosecutors said. But as Mizell’s music-industry success waned in the 1990s, he turned to dealing cocaine to help fund his music career, according to prosecutors.

Rappers Who Addressed Their Addictions

His death was caused by heavy usage of the life-threatening “purple drank,” a combination of codeine and promethazine. Legendary rapper Mac Miller is another artist whose life tragically came to an end due to drug use. His death still remains a huge and sad loss to both his fans and the music industry, shedding light on the importance of mental health awareness. Both rappers were criticized at the time for “glamorizing” street life. But, for those of us actually living through the scenes they illustrated, their art was a Rosetta Stone. Listening to songs like “Everyday Struggle” by Biggie or “Life’s a Bitch” by Nas, made me certain that I not only didn’t want to do drugs; I didn’t want to sell them either.

Frequent collaborators Lil Pump and Smokepurpp blacklisted Xans, announcing in January 2018 that they were leaving the habit in the past. Also last January, Mozzy kicked off the #KickDaKupChallenge, denouncing lean by pouring out a whole bottle onto the ground. NEW YORK — Two men were convicted of murder Tuesday in the death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, a brazen 2002 shooting in the rap legend’s studio. In their lyrics and stage shows, they were known to advocate against illegal narcotics. ” anti-drug public service announcement in the late 1980s for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

‘It’s a war zone’: why is a generation of rappers dying young?

It seems more likely, however, that violent crime was reduced by several other factors including an improved economy. Poor economic conditions were, after all, responsible for the creation of highly competitive, often-violent drug markets. In a way that Nancy Reagan could never, it appears the community and culture surrounding the most vulnerable young people taught them, rather than told them to just say no. Not many rappers have been in rehab twice, but Famous Dex has. The first time was in December 2020, when he voluntarily sought out professional help.

He turned to drugs to kill the pain of forever being remembered as a child star, so we must assume, and even though the crew was getting back on the road, it wasn’t enough excitement to save him. The 34-year-old was found dead of a cocaine and heroin overdose in his Atlanta home earlier this year. Eminem actually helped another famous rapper, T.I., beat his own addiction.

Two guilty of murder of Run-DMC legend Jam Master Jay

The government took such a hard-line approach that they wound up intentionally killing at least 10,000 people with poisoned alcohol during prohibition. Rapper Kid Cudi’s troubles with co-occurring disorders are well-known. Early in his career, he used cocaine and marijuana to cope with newfound fame and alleviate his years-long battle with anxiety and depression. In his music, he reveals the mental health problems that have plagued him for years.