Mac Miller’s 2014 mixtape Faces is a long, drawn out exploration on themes of addiction, exploring the highs and lows of drug abuse along with the emotional toll it takes on a person after extended use. Mac has been vocal about his abuse of codeine, known as lean, and the addictive stimulant cocaine. Addiction is an isolating disease that draws us further and further away from those closest to us. Sometimes it can feel as though you are all alone, facing your demons alone. Fortunately, there are sober rappers artists out there who have struggled with addiction as well. Artists like the ones included on this list can help you find solace, encouragement, and compassion while in the midst of great difficulty.
Here’s a List of Rappers That Are Proud to Be Sober
“The deeper I got into my addiction, the tighter the lid got on my creativity,” Eminem told New York Times in 2009. Having grown up in Compton, Kendrick Lamar smoked and drank a bit as a teenager. Lamar recalled the conversation he had with his father in an interview with SPIN’s Jessica Hopper. Most recently, Toosii went on Instagram to set the record straight about what he likes to do in his spare time. Speaking in third person, he captioned the post, “Toosii if you don’t smoke or drink how do you have fun?,” dismissing any notion of relying on substances to keep himself busy. “Well… I got a bowling problem,” he continued, evidenced in the 30 plus balls that he was pictured laying in front of.
- In a 2022 interview with Self, he discussed how avoiding overworking, limiting his use of social media, and feeling inspired and motivated by his daughter help him to stay clean.
- I was in a bubble for 30 years because I was a rock star, but I was still a jerk because of the drugs and alcohol.
- This is a list of rappers who are sober and recovering from former addictions.
- “I tried pretty much every drug there was to try,” he explained to “Complex.” Lecrae left that lifestyle behind and now refrains from drugs and alcohol.
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- Recovery is one of the best things that I could have ever had happen to me, and I like to share that with whoever wants to hear and listen.
- Each of our unique, high-quality cards is perfect for the dedicated fan, trading card collector, or anyone with a passion for hip hop culture.
- At least when Cole spits, he means it; his words feel tangible.
- He credits his family, his faith and his newfound dedication to sobriety as the driving force behind his success.
- Clapton has been sober for almost 30 years and wrote very frankly about his struggles with addiction in his memoir, Clapton.
- Many rappers are known for celebrating drink and drugs, from smoking weed, to sipping lean, to popping Xanax.
He rapped about drug use on his first few albums, but it was not until after 2004’s Encore that he sought help. When Cole repeats the phrase “made it out, it gotta mean something,” it’s as if he’s carrying the weight of his city’s deferred dreams. Much like the athletes whom he seeks to emulate, Cole becomes a vicarious bearer of hope. This is the theme of Cole’s new record, K.O.D. — namely, the pain that makes people escape into drugs, alcohol, money, sex, social media and other vices. Cole’s biggest escape these days is his work, and during the week in late March that I visit him, he is shooting what is Oxford House two music videos. Em once told “VIBE” that he had to relearn how to record music sober.
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On Jay Shetty’s podcast, On Purpose, he admitted that quitting alcohol was ‘the best thing I’ve ever done’ after realising the extent of his dependence. Below, we’ve highlighted 12 songwriters and performers and their stories of sobriety. Some of the artists who have made these choices have been vocal about them, from Eminem and Ed Sheeran to Paul McCartney and P! Macklemore penned this tribute to his friend Kevin, who passed away from an overdose of prescription pain pills in 2010. The song appeared on his album “This Unruly Mess I’ve Made”, and contains numerous references to Oxycontin and the greed of the pharmaceutical industry.
Rappers Who Have Been To Rehab: Eminem, Famous Dex & More
- Artists like the ones included on this list can help you find solace, encouragement, and compassion while in the midst of great difficulty.
- Pharrell once ate six weed brownies and passed out in a bathroom, as he recalled in a 2013 interview with Nardwuar.
- Some see these expectations as having played a part in what happened to them, though most ultimately see their decisions and actions as also—if not mainly—a matter of their own psychology and personality and predisposition.
- In 2014, the stress of the public spotlight pushed him to take up sleeping pills and weed.
“I had an experience with alcohol that made me paranoid because of it and I stayed away from it,” 50 told Piers Morgan. In an interview with G-Unit, Tony Yayo confirmed that 50 Cent abstains from drugs and 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. A study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh in 2008 analyzed Billboard magazine’s list of the 279 most popular songs of 2005. The results showed that substance use was referenced in 77 percent of rap songs, the highest percentage of drug mentions among all genres included in the study.
Young Dro’s rehab story is particularly sad because of how the effects of his drug use hit close to home. At the time, he had no idea he would get addicted or how far the effects would reach. Unfortunately, he did struggle with substance abuse down the line, and much later, he discovered that his teenage daughter had started using as well. Dro shared that the discovery pushed him to check himself into rehab in 2021 and has stayed clean since.
“Not Afraid” is a single from his Recovery album, and is a triumphant anthem about overcoming struggles to stand proud. Eminem has used much of his music as an outlet for the inner demons and personal challenges he has faced. Eminem’s drug-fueled adventures in his younger years provided inspiration for some of the most colorful and depraved rap songs ever recorded.
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Fame in rap isn’t confined to chart-topping hits or massive fan followings alone; it encompasses media presence, influence, and the ability to resonate with audiences globally. A shifting attitude toward addiction and mental illness has taken place among the rap community. From Macklemore speaking with Obama about opioid abuse to Logic releasing a song about suicide awareness, more rappers today are bringing these subjects to the forefront. Macklemore has struggled with remaining sober his whole life.
All Sober Life Supporters
Hart, who stars in the video, walks over and sits down; Cole is directing and tells him what to do. The song is loosely about sex addiction, and the video sends up Hart’s situation, imagining a day in his life after the cheating news broke. Name it, and your favorite rapper has probably rapped about it. Yet the stereotype of the drug-addled rapper doesn’t apply universally. Several dinosaurs are out there living by the drug-free, or straight edge, code.