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Controlling the substance

What do you think your high school history teacher would have done if you walked into class one day and said, "Sorry I don't have my homework, teach, but I ran out of weed, and if I don't smoke some of those super-dooper hooties, I can't write a thing"? Well, that's the same excuse lots of rappers use these days when asked to explain why there are so many references to drugs in their lyrics. When rap was just getting its start 15, 20 years ago, the word "rocks" described beats, not crack pipes. But everything's different now--songs like "Hits From the Bong" even seem a bit naive compared to recent releases. Ryan Waxenberg's trenchant article from Mr. Blunt confronts the relationship between "Beats, Booze, and Blunts" from every angle, and provides a well-written analysis of the current trend in hip-hop culture.

Wed, 29 Dec 1999 07:55:08 -0800