“I wonder if you feel a thing besides the Xanax and highs” – Hoodie Allen

These lines from rapper Hoodie Allen are typical for today’s rappers. 2017 was a huge year for hip hop; songs like Post Malone’s “Rockstar” dominated nationwide charts, as well as “Mask Off” by Future, and “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump. If you enjoy these songs and this genre of music you may have noticed the growing popularity of opioids and other controlled substances in these songs. For example, in May, you couldn’t loop through radio stations without hearing the infamously catchy chorus “percocets, molly, percocets” or a rapper speak about taking bars of Xanax. This glorifies prescription drug use, while downplaying the dangerous nature of these drugs.

By no means am I hating on the songs, or hip hop in general, I’d just like to emphasize the importance in recognizing that these artists are conveying a fantasy and the drugs they brag about are killing thousands of Americans every day.

According to https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates  there were more than 64,000 estimated drug overdose deaths in 2016. Not all of the overdoses are confirmed to be from opioids, but that’s more deaths than the entirety of the Vietnam War (58,000 were killed). Opioids are on par to kill more people each year than breast cancer. This is truly an American crisis.

I don’t at all suggest boycotting this music because of the drug references, as I myself listen to many of the songs in this genre. I simply want people, especially students my age whom are most susceptible to peer pressure and may be a part of party culture, to take into account the danger of the drugs in these songs, as well as educate themselves on the effects of the substances.

Everyone knows too much of a drug can kill you, but very few people are aware of the ways different drugs interact. For example, the growing popularity of xanax and percocet are sometimes deemed a casual, recreational drug, but the possibility of the two being mixed,

creates a deadly concoction, that not only destroys lives, but can also kill you.

It’s easy to forget that the lines in these verses are for the purpose of rhyming and expressing a particular “cool” image. Although many of these artists may be partaking of these drugs, as evidenced by some recent deaths, it in no way makes the drugs “cool.” Artists like Russ realize the influence they have over their listeners and condemned the encouragement of drug use. In September Russ tweeted, “A lotta rappers have romanticized and glorified drug abuse. People’s lives get ruined from that shit. Grow up.” Rappers alone aren’t the problem, but if they changed their mindset, they could possibly make a change for the better in high school student usage of these prescription drugs.