HOW CANNABIS CULTURE EVOLVED THROUGH HIP-HOP
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By Mikael Shimshon annabis plays an essential role in In 1988 The “Greenhouse Effect,” which is hip-hop unapologetic culture, the thought to be a factor in global warming, caused influence of hip hop culture on fear because it was the hottest year ever officially pop culture cannot be easily unrecorded in human history. Hip-hop was simultaderstated. Rappers and marijuana neously starting to fuel a different type of green have always been inseparable from the begin- movement. There were a number of seminal, ning of time. Various slang terms for weed ground-breaking albums released during that include greenery, Chronic, herb, ganja, and historically scorching spring and summer, includnowadays ZaZa for exotic weed. Back then, ing but not limited to Run DMC’s “Tougher Than attitudes concerning the usage of marijuana Leather”, EPMD’s “Strictly Business”, Public or cannabis were very covert. These days, Enemy’s “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold this is the hottest topic, making headlines Us Back”, Eric B. & Rakim’s “Follow the Leader”, that flatter the oversaturated hip-hop stars to Salt-n Pepa’s “A Salt With a Deadly Pepa”, 2 Live enter or launch their own brands and strains Crew’s “Move Somethin”, NWA’s “Straight Out in the marijuana industry. Compton” and Eazy-E’s “Easy Does It”. While 1980s rap had no trouble discussing alcohol, especially malt liquor, any mention of narcotics was vehemently opposed to its ideology, as demonstrated by songs like Melle Mel’s “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” from 1983. In this way, what N.W.A achieved was revolutionary because they embraced and exposed everything that was true to their environment, acting as “the TV news for the hood,” rather than just concentrating on wordplay.
