The Effects of Drugs on Entertainment

Most people in the music biz see narcotics as a ubiquitous entity in the industry. Pills like Ecstasy and painkillers and other drugs like Molly, Cocaine, LSD and the often-decriminalized Marijuana are used by many and abused by some. Certain drugs like LSD and MDMA (Ecstasy) heighten the senses so club attendees and concertgoers often take these drugs to intensify the entertainment experience. Marijuana and alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes people more receptive to certain forms of art especially music.

Cocaine is known to make people euphoric, energized and impulsive. Many musicians use Cocaine to hype themselves up before a performance or to combat a grueling tour schedule. The customers use drugs to intensify their experience and the performers use drugs to intensify their performance. The drugs I named above are mainly street drugs and can only be purchased illegally. There are several legal narcotics such as Xanax and Adderall that offer the same benefits as their illegal counterparts but are not as associated with abuse.

Working as a music producer I realized that there are very few music studios that don’t allow pot use indoors. The recording process is treated as a ritual with many performers and Marijuana is almost a tool of the trade for many Writers, performers and producers. The question is do drugs make entertainment better? The answer is no. Drugs don’t ultimately change your environment but they do change your perception of it. Yes some people do create great music under the influence but smoking a joint doesn’t make you sing or play better it just alters your mood so that you enjoy the process more. The same goes for the consumer, getting high at a show doesn’t make the band suddenly play better. The feelings induced by your drug of choice coupled with a satisfactory environment often make people have a better experience.

All drugs legal or illegal have negative side effects but for most people the worst side effect is incrimination. I have been to many concerts and the one thing I’ve noticed is that police rarely detain anyone for drug use at these events and that goes for Eagles concerts or Jay-Z concerts. Even police understand that certain environments are conducive to drug use. I do-not condone drug use by anyone especially under aged patrons but there’s no denying that for some people Drugs and certain forms of entertainment go hand in hand.

Narcotic use often begins as a social practice for many people and then grows into a terrible addiction. Drug use can lead to unemployment, incarceration and death. There are several opinions about marijuana use but drugs like Heroine and cocaine are not really up for debate these are drugs that kill people everyday. Anyone reading this that thinks they may need help please seek it through the treatment link.

The Age Barrier is Broken in Hip-hop!

When hip hop began in 1978 it was seen as a passing fad. Genres such as Rock and R&B were the mainstays in music culture. Hip-hop was also a young persons game like most music is. The difference was that hip-hop had an unwritten rule that if you were over the age of 30 you were deemed out of touch and no longer relevant in the eyes of the culture. Once a hip hop artist got old enough they were expected to become a D.J. or work in other facets of the culture such as media or a corporate job for a record label.

The problem with this unwritten rule was the shear novelty and newness of the genre. Hip hop is officially 35 years old to date so most of the core fans where very young at the beginning but now as the genre ages a lot of the original fans are approaching or over 50. This change in demographic has allowed artists over 35 to flourish in a genre that they would have been shunned in 15 years ago. Artists like Jay-Z (43) and Nas who recently turned 40 continue to appear in the top 40 and continuously have sold out shows and other events.

The Rapper 2 Chainz did not have his first hit until the age of 36 and the rapper Rick Ross is at the height of his career at age of 37. Rap is no longer a young mans game it’s anybody’s game. I believe there are some social explanations for this such as the increase in life expectancy. The longer people live the longer they want to stay connected to their youth as well as pop culture. In my opinion the main reason is simply self-identification. When your 40 you just don’t stop liking hip-hop but the listener may want content that’s more reflective of a mature state of mind. The younger generation tends to rap about things that most of us experienced a decade ago and probably doesn’t interest us the way it used to.

In order for hip-hop to reach its full potential it must mature with its fans just like Rock n Roll does. Hip-hop artists over 35 will no longer pack it up and just do nostalgia shows or reunion concerts. These days’ rappers over 30 are the only ones with sustainable careers and in my opinion it’s because of the wisdom you gain after making so many mistakes in your twenties. New faces like Drake and Kendrick Lamar are enjoying massive success but most of their mentors are still making good music and they draw inspiration from one another.

My grandfather didn’t listen to hip-hop but those day’s are over some day soon one of our favorite artist’s will be a grand father and that will be a great day for hip-hop.