Afroman Sings “Because I Got High”
Listen to this track by herbally-refreshed rapper and singer Joseph Edgar Foreman, better known to the world as Afroman. It’s “Because I Got High”, his internationally charting hit that made a big splash in 2000. It also appears on the album of the same name, and his second release by then. The song would also appear on the 2001 compilation record of his independent releases The Good Times.
This monster hit song would eventually win Afroman his “one hit wonder” status, after its use on The Howard Stern Show boosted its popularity. The song later appeared in movie soundtracks of the era including Kevin Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Shia LeBeouf psychological thriller Disturbia, and teen heist comedy The Perfect Score. Even beyond its initial era of popularity in the early 2000s, Afroman’s song about weed endures today. Since its release, there have been parody versions, a holiday-themed take, and updated versions of the song to reflect issues including cannabis legalization and even inflation. The less said about the more recent Hunter Biden parody version, the better. But even so, this song still has legs.
It helps that “Because I Got High” is very relatable for many. The fact is this: a lot of people smoke up. According to the CDC, approximately 19% of Americans partook in cannabis at least once in 2021. That’s 52 million people. Cannabis use in the UK is proportionate, being the nation’s most commonly consumed Class B drug with users ranging from teens to seniors. There continue to be concerns around brain development in weed-smoking teens in particular as it affects memory, learning, coordination, and even mental health. These are serious health issues to consider, just as there is with many substances people ingest, legal or not.
When “Because I Got High” came out, and as appealing and funny as it was (and still is!), some perceived it as being dismissive of these serious issues at best and of being blatantly “pro-drugs” at worst. The song became fuel for conservative rhetoric around the dangers of reefer madness and its (spurious) connection to the deterioration of morality. As usual, talking about drugs in this reactionary way as a moral issue and not a health issue with serious social implications served as a very useful distraction to other pertinent political and economic issues that require solutions that go well beyond the prohibition of substances.
In fact, many of those issues are among the systemic root causes of drug abuse; social inequality, worker’s rights abuses, and racism, among many others. It is far easier to condemn the use of a substance and attribute it solely to individual moral weakness or self-indulgence than it is to address the systemic problems the drives up that use. That seems to be how things are in our society; preserving systems that benefit some and cause great harm to so many others is more important than protecting those people who are most negatively affected by those systems and structures.
Beyond how politically useful the controversy was to talk radio host blowhards and waning political figures desperate to keep their names in the press, the song’s origins had very little to do with making political statements around drug use. Purportedly, Afroman wrote his signature song in minutes, doing so initially as an inside joke with people he considered to be likeminded in their appreciation of recreational greenery. As he stated by August of 2001 in the pages of Time Magazine, no less:
“You know what, dude? I made this tape for all my homeboys. I didn’t think I’d be talking to TIME magazine. I’m a little worried about Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. I don’t want to get anybody riled up. I just figured, since I’m a pothead, why can’t me and the other potheads have a little joke between ourselves.” (read the whole article)
Besides the dubious controversy it stirred up, “Because I Got High” is a very deftly constructed pop song, doing the thing it’s designed to do which is to get in your head and stay there. To start with, it’s got a powerful melodic hook. It’s sung very well in a kind of bleary-eyed and languid doo wop style which really stood out stylistically on the radio at the time. Importantly, it has a distinctive narrative structure in every verse that is very easy to follow; situation, to intention, to consequence, and all because of a habitual pattern that the narrator can’t seem to shake to any degree of success . Most damning of all, Afroman made it sound fun.
Listening closer, though, there is something lurking beneath the comedy that makes this song more than it seems. As much as he wrote it for a laugh to share with other potheads, Afroman also built something socially potent into “Because I Got High” along with his series of punchlines. This is a story about someone who didn’t clean up their room, failed an exam, and didn’t get laid because he got too baked to follow through. The only victim in these stories in the song is the narrator himself. Everyone can see the funny side there.
But another story found in the song is about someone who has lost his family due to drug use, ultimately causing him to become homeless and for his children to be without their father.
I messed up my entire life because I got high
I lost my kids and wife because I got high
Now I’m sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why (why, man?)
‘Cause I got high, because I got high, because I got high …
~ “Because I Got High” by Afroman
This is in addition to the story about a man becoming a paraplegic after running from the police who take violent measures against him. This is a story that is all too real for many Black people, and also very much a story that resonated with the audience Afroman had primarily in mind when writing his novelty hit. At a certain point then, “Because I Got High” becomes something more than just a gimmicky hit single.
Is “Because I Got High” still a funny song? Yes. Is it also one that acknowledges that drugs can undo your life bit by bit if you’re not careful? Also, yes. Does it suggest to listeners that this story has bigger social implications beyond just individual bad habits and poor choices? You bet. It mixes the comedy with the cold reality of established social structures and tragic events that come of them.
This is why the impulse to laugh is so much the stronger. In fact, a lot of comedy works that way. The comedy is in place to help us process the tragedy. As we’ve known since the art of storytelling began, these two powerful and resonant narrative forces are linked. Maybe it was this level of nuance and thematic ambiguity instead of a clear cut “pro or anti” divide around the taboo subject of drugs that really riled people up at the time. This is a song that, with subtlety, reveals things about our society that people in power and those defending the status quo would rather not talk about.
His one-hit wonder status notwithstanding, Afroman’s more recent work also deals with some relatable themes between comedy and tragedy that touch on harmful social and political systems in Western society. This newer material is specifically themed around a baseless police raid at his home in 2022, with footage of the incident used in videos for the songs that appear on his Lemon Pound Cake album that same year. All told, Afroman took the fear and humiliation of a wrongful raid and made those responsible into a laughing stock.
Legal issues ensued afterwards with some of the officers in question naming themselves as injured parties. It goes to show that the pen is sometimes mightier than the dubiously-issued search warrant and badge, especially when that pen is wielded by someone who is too easily mistaken for just another slacker pothead.
You can read about the incident here on NPR.
Enjoy!
#2000sMusic #Afroman #noveltySongs #oneHitWonders #songsAboutDrugs
50+ Music
Team-FM
Jessica D. M. 🇺🇦 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇵🇦 🇬🇱 🪃 🟧
Game Rumors
rjptalk
Vereesh
The Delete Bin
\ˈthē-ˈˈärd-ˌvärk\
Glöckchen