5 of Our Favorite Rappers Who Have Battled Drug Addiction
A look at Jeezy’s Billboard history reveals he’s had many hits under both his current moniker and his old one, Young Jeezy. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in the game, from Drake to Jay-Z. There’s also a less violent avenue that has landed Insane Clown Posse in numerous legal troubles. Per The Detroit News, the IRS has been on their case over unpaid taxes more than once, at one point even noting that Shaggy 2 Dope might be imprisoned if he fails to comply. Celebrity patients frequently practice polypharmacy using multiple physicians, multiple drug stores, and multiple aliases to obtain medications.
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According to The Smoking Gun, young Jackson’s second arrest in 1994 came mere weeks later, amphetamine addiction treatment when the police turned up at his door with a search warrant and discovered a starter gun and a stash of drugs. He faced up to nine years in prison, which was ultimately turned into a seven-month stint at a youth boot camp. Rap is one of the most prominent musical genres around, and as Encyclopedia Britannica notes, the 1980s saw the birth of gangsta rap. The genre’s popularity heralded the arrival of a new style of MC’s, who often rapped about criminal activities.
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Just a cursory look at some of the most prominent projects reveals, however, an anti-crack meme that emerged in the late ‘80s and continued on through the end of the epidemic in the mid-’90s. These images from Black filmmakers and music from Black artists warned, educated, and represented us in ways that not only informed my peers and I, but protected us. In 2015, per NBC, Ice was renovating a house, and allegedly broke into the neighboring house and stole a number of items. He was arrested and jailed, but maintained that the whole thing was “a misunderstanding.” He ultimately accepted a plea deal for 100 hours of community service. The federal drug laws were a response to the rampant opiate addiction problem in the USA at the end of the 19th century.
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In a 2020 interview with Malcolm Gladwell (via Essence), the rapper reflected on his criminal activities and said that his time in prison was ultimately a blessing in disguise. Even so, the rapper’s years between 2005 and 2013 continued to feature a laundry list of arrests. Also in 2005, he was arrested for beating a promoter with a pool stick, receiving a six-month prison sentence and a six-and-a-half-year probation. In the coming years, he violated and risked violating said probation more than once. Years of various charges on assault, battery, reckless conduct, disorderly conduct, drug and firearm possession, and assorted driving-themed misdeeds followed — as did stints in jail.
As DJ Booth tells us, Billboard charts mainstay Gucci Mane has a lengthy criminal record, starting from a first-degree murder charge in 2005. The rapper fatally shot one of the men who reportedly targeted him for robbery, but he pleaded self-defense, and the charge was ultimately dropped due to lack of evidence. As he wrote in his 2017 book, “The Autobiography of Gucci Mane” (via The New Yorker), =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ he wasn’t particularly thrilled about the whole thing — especially when the murder charge was used to introduce him to new people. Given more reasons to quit, including the overdose death of Mac Miller in September 2018, rappers are deciding enough is enough. XXL gathered a list of rhymers who recently walked away from their most detrimental vice.
Per the BBC, in 2019 he faced charges for illegal firearms, assault, racketeering, and conspiracy to murder, but entered a plea deal. After testifying against the gang and providing information, he got away with a two-year sentence, as opposed to the 47 or more years he might’ve been facing. As part of this agreement, 6ix9ine also admitted to domestic violence between 2011 and 2018 (per Complex).
His loss rocked the music industry and left many grappling with questions about whether or not Miller received any resources to try and help him, especially given the numerous warning signs broadcasted for years leading up to his death. Dozens of fellow artists, influencers, and fans flooded Twitter with goodbyes to Miller and posts that memorialized just how much of an impact he had on everyone around him. At only 26 years old, the young singer undoubtedly should have had far more time to continue creating music and inspiring others. In Juice WRLD’s case, representation of drug use in music influenced the start of his battle with addiction.
- The federal drug laws were a response to the rampant opiate addiction problem in the USA at the end of the 19th century.
- 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.
- “High Powered,” “The $20 Sack Pyramid,” “The Roach,” “Let Me Ride” and other tracks from “The Chronic” exalt the benefits of smoking weed.
- Hank Williams, who recorded 66 songs and wrote 50 of them himself, died at age 29.
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In order to preserve the Elvis image and legacy, a “cover up” was initiated by the family and the pathologists. The stomach contents at autopsy were destroyed before analysis, no real police investigation was conducted, and no drugs were found at Graceland. One artist won’t change the epidemic’s course just like censoring EST Gee’s mentioning of “fentanyl” on sober rappers his song “Sky Dweller” won’t prevent the crisis from continuing. “High Powered,” “The $20 Sack Pyramid,” “The Roach,” “Let Me Ride” and other tracks from “The Chronic” exalt the benefits of smoking weed. In fact, the album’s title is a slang term for high-grade marijuana and the art for its cover references the packaging for Zig-Zag rolling papers. The culture was blasted by the mainstream for its vulgarity, “Gangsta Rap” in particular.
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- The sketches above are from an experiment believed to have been conducted circa 1954 by the psychiatrist Oscar Janiger.
- It was suggested that the purple colon was a manifestation of an inflammatory response to barbiturates, possibly administered by enema.
- 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).
- The same music has, in some cases, left a dangerous trail of verses that can be misunderstood by impressionable young minds in the midst of their own personal desire for entertainment and escape from daily struggles.
The song is an emotional and personal reminder to listeners about the severity of addiction and just how much it can take from you when it is affecting the people you care about. These days, Snoop Dogg is basically hip-hop’s coolest cool uncle, thanks to his laid-back style and things like his long-running friendship with Martha Stewart. However, for much of his life, he’s clashed with the law more or less consistently. Per The Age, the rapper — whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Junior — used to sell drugs and run with the infamous Crips gang, which led him to all sorts of trouble. From 1993 to 1996, he fought a gang-related murder charge, of which he was eventually acquitted (per the Los Angeles Times).
On August 4, 1962, at age 36, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bedroom in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Her death was ruled a suicide from an overdose of barbiturates and chloral hydrate. However, her death is still a mystery, and many are convinced that she was murdered by organized crime, the FBI, or the CIA.
