The five best songs about weed
One recurring topic discussed in hip hop so much that it’s become a fundamental aspect of the genre is drugs, and the king of them all is weed. This is probably the reason you’re not allowed to play your music around your grandparents.
As hip-hop transitioned in the 1990s, it took on a different form as gangsta rap became the prevailing sub-genre; eventually taking over the entire game. The point of gangsta rap was to harness the shared experiences that a lot of the artists lived through growing up on the streets.
A lot of these shared experiences came as a direct result of the gang affiliations the artists were involved with. Drug pushing was and remains one of the biggest gang activities, so artists heavily referenced drugs in their songs to boast and brag about being the baddest.
Weed became the drug of choice to rap about, but also for personal use, as a lot of rappers, whose bank accounts significantly grew, realised they could absolutely afford to fund their chilling habit. This boom in popularity was definitely helped by none other than Snoop Dogg, who has since somehow become the global face of the drug. Inspired by Snoop, here are the five best songs about the green.
The five best songs about weed:
5. Redman – ‘How To Roll A Blunt’ (1992)
Redman kicks off the list with a generous effort to educate the next generation on how to enjoy the loud. The track featured in Redman and Method Man’s 1991 movie, How High?, which sees the two smoke some magic weed that helps them get into the prestigious Harvard University.
The track is a step-by-step guide to a good time before the days of YouTube instructional videos, back when you’d have to ask the shady guy in the neighbourhood to do it for you. The song shouts out weed-lover legends Phillies Blunt as the brand of choice and even includes the secret to keeping the roll spit-free. What a considerate guy.
4. Bob Marley – ‘Kaya’ (1978)
This list would be a disgrace if we didn’t include the Jamaican ‘God of Ganga’, Bob Marley. He is the Rasta whose entire sound and look scream stoned and relaxed. Marley returns with his signature chilled-out and soulful sound to present ‘Kaya’, which, if you hadn’t guessed, is of course another name for weed.
The track is a feel-good experience, and it should be the first thing you put on the speakers after your first couple of tokes. This is Marley’s love letter to weed, and boy, does he love it. He lets the beat do most of the talking, periodically chiming in to remind us of how good he feels smoking that green.
3. Afroman – ‘Because I Got High’ (2000)
It should come as no surprise that Afroman’s 2000 offering has a place on this list. His hilarious song will easily crack you up if you’re susceptible to the giggles. Afroman himself is clearly a connoisseur of all the strains, and his relaxed tone and approach to the beat sounds like he probably smoked before the studio session. Our suspicions are confirmed in the final verse.
In the song, the rapper goes on to list all the things he was going to do, like clean his room, go to work and even pay his child support, but he didn’t, because he got high. He also goes on to warn of the risks of overconsumption of blunts; he lost his family because he got high. Afroman, what an inspiration.
2. Afroman – ‘Crazy Rap’ (2000)
Shockingly, the California native comes in back-to-back with his tune ‘Crazy Rap’. This song is a coming-of-age rite-of-passage experience for every 15 and 16-year-old. He comes back on this track with another comical story of all the women he meets as he smokes the days away.
The lyrics “Colt 45 and two Zig-Zags, baby that’s all we need” are burnt into the brains of every stoner; this was probably their first smoke song. Afro keeps it chill and simple with the clear message that cheap booze and a pair of zoots are all that’s required for a good time. A simple message from the rapper that we can all agree with.
1. Snoop Dogg – ‘French Inhale’ (2011)
Who else was going to top this list, let’s be real. Snoop along with other mega-stoner Wiz Khalifa, maybe inspired by Redman and Method Man, created this song for their cult classic 2012 movie Mack and Devin Go To High School. The movie follows both a high school overachiever and a senior entering his 15th year of school and includes a famous talking blunt.
The smoking technique-titled track has such a loosening effect that your shoulders drop lower and your eyes get redder as you exhale in unison with the chorus. Both artists offer their soft-spoken lyrics bragging about their status as veteran weed smokers. The D O double G takes the crown, though, with his Uber-cool verse and as the biggest smoke, because, of course, he does.