Rap music has always been a mirror reflecting the realities of the streets, and during the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, it became a powerful voice documenting the era’s harsh truths. When rappers faced criticism for their lyrical content, their defense was often that they were simply portraying the world around them. In the case of the crack cocaine crisis, this was undeniably true.
As crack use surged throughout the 1980s, so did the number of rap songs acting as cautionary tales. Early examples like Kool Moe Dee’s “Monster Crack” (1986), NWA’s stark “Dopeman,” MC Shan’s plea in “Jane, Stop This Crazy Thing!” and Boogie Down Productions’ urgent “Say No Brother (Crack Attack Don’t Do It),” all released in 1987, served as sonic warnings. This trend continued into 1988 with Public Enemy’s hard-hitting “Night of the Living Baseheads,” NWA’s politically charged “Fuck tha Police,” and Slick Rick’s narrative “Hey Young World,” among others.
The anti-crack movement in rap music expanded with tracks like BDP’s collective effort “Self Destruction,” Shinehead’s direct “Gimme No Crack,” Young MC’s simple message in “Just Say No,” Brand Nubian’s “Slow Down,” and even later, The Notorious B.I.G.’s somber reflection in “Everyday Struggle.” These songs, far from glorifying drug use as some critics alleged, were overwhelmingly united in their opposition to crack cocaine. Crucially, these tracks resonated with young audiences, the very generation that would play a significant role in eventually turning the tide against the crack epidemic.
However, to truly understand the shift in cultural attitudes towards drug use, particularly the move away from crack, one artist stands out: Dr. Dre rapper. More than any other individual in the genre, Dr. Dre deserves credit for helping to usher in a new chapter. First as a pivotal member and producer of NWA, he was instrumental in painting vivid pictures of inner-city life during the crack era in groundbreaking tracks like “Dopeman,” “Fuck tha Police,” and “Gangsta Gangsta.” Then, in 1992, after departing from NWA, Dr. Dre unleashed his seminal album, “The Chronic.” This album, lauded as a masterpiece by publications like Vibe, Spin, and Rolling Stone, is widely considered one of the most important hip-hop albums ever created. Beyond its musical impact, “The Chronic” arrived at a crucial moment, as the crack epidemic began to wane and a new generation started experimenting with drugs, presenting a distinct alternative to the destructive path of hard drugs.
“The Chronic” acts as a musical time capsule of its era. On it, Dr. Dre perfected his signature “G-funk” sound, a production style characterized by infectious basslines, rich synthesizer layers, soulful background vocals, and samples drawn from funk and soul classics. This sonic landscape, reminiscent of a bygone era, provided the backdrop for lyrics that tackled contemporary issues. Tracks such as “The Day the Niggaz Took Over,” “Lil’ Ghetto Boy,” and “A Nigga Witta Gun” offered raw portrayals of street life amidst the crack cocaine crisis. Adding another layer of social commentary, Dre incorporated documentary audio from the LA Riots throughout “The Chronic,” further grounding the album in the turbulent realities of the time.
Beyond its social commentary, “The Chronic” also introduced another significant element into the hip-hop narrative: an open embrace of marijuana. Songs like “High Powered,” “The $20 Sack Pyramid,” “The Roach,” and “Let Me Ride” explicitly celebrated the pleasures of cannabis. Even the album’s title, “The Chronic,” is itself a slang term for high-quality marijuana, and the album art cleverly mimics the packaging of Zig-Zag rolling papers, leaving no doubt about its thematic focus.
This overt celebration of marijuana drew criticism from anti-rap figures like C. Delores Tucker, who decried “The Chronic” for glamorizing drug use, predicting it would encourage young people to use marijuana. Her prediction proved to be accurate. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that after a period of decline since 1978, marijuana use among high school seniors began to rise again in 1992, the very year “The Chronic” was released. The NHSDA also recorded a similar increase among individuals aged 18 to 20. Researchers at the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice identified this new wave of young drug users as the “Blunt Generation.” A 2001 report noted that “the reemergence of interest in marijuana use was pioneered as part of the youthful, inner-city, predominantly Black hip-hop movement.”
Indeed, analysis of popular rap songs reveals that mentions of “blunts” were virtually absent before 1990. However, by the early 1990s, 15 percent of rap songs included references to blunts, and by the later part of the decade, this figure nearly doubled to 29 percent. Researchers observed that a key characteristic of the “Blunt Generation” was their “seeming ‘disdain for hard drugs.’” This aversion, they suggested, stemmed partly from firsthand experiences with family members struggling with addiction and the severe legal consequences of the War on Drugs.
This excerpt has been adapted from the book WHEN CRACK WAS KING by Donovan X. Ramsey. Copyright © 2023 by Donovan Ramsey. Reprinted by arrangement with One World, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
