While there is no statistical proof, there has been a suggestion that a higher-than-average number of celebrities pass away at the age of 27. This list includes only a few of the brilliant musicians whose lives were tragically cut short at the age of 27 due to drugs and alcohol. A refreshingly honest approach to sobriety, this chirpy pop number finds frontman Matty Healy personifying his past heroin addiction, and treating the drug like a long lost lover. Sobriety might not be easy (and Matty has been quick to point out he’s not completely sober by any means), but sometimes it’s okay to admit you miss your former crutch. “I have a problem with my vices,” said the pop star, I’ve kicked the drugs, but every now and then I have to go out and get completely wasted on alcohol. I’m such a control freak it’s very hard for me to lose my inhibitions without something chemical inside me.
Word has it that Ice Cold hasn’t touched a mind-altering substance for nearly two decades. But more and more, those lavish, reckless lifestyles seem to be something of the past for many, including some of the biggest names in music. The old ways are being left behind for a new understanding of addiction and mental health. Some see these expectations as having played a part in what happened to them, though most ultimately see their decisions and actions as also—if not mainly—a matter of their own psychology and personality and predisposition. While drugs and music can be close bedfellows, we’d all much rather have our favorite artists alive and healthy than partying like a rockstar and headed toward an early grave. It’s important to take a step back and remember that not everyone needs to be high to be dope.
Top Rap Songs About Addiction and Recovery
After publicly celebrating six years of sobriety on tour in 2018, the singer stunned fans later that same year with the release of the confessional single “Sober,” which revealed that she had relapsed. And after quitting the drug, he soon turned to alcohol—only to also quit that dependency. “I don’t discuss this a lot,” he said during a May 2024 podcast appearance. “I discuss it every now and sober rappers then when it makes sense. I’m 39 years sober. I got sober Feb. 23, 1985.” Since making the lifestyle change, Holland noticed he “could sleep better” and “handle problems better.”
- The wounds are deep, and he fears her past may negatively affect her now.
- Eminem is one of the most prominent rappers around and has been open about his time in rehab.
- Take a look at this list and find out which of your favorite rap stars abstain from drugs and alcohol.
- With the dual releases of her fourth studio album No Shame and memoir My Thoughts Exactly, the singer spent much of 2018 getting brutally honest about the height of her addition problems.
- He now credits his sobriety as a major contributor to his success.
Sober Rappers
Some created the work that made them first or best known before they were sober; some have done so since. The Parent Trap actor battled a cocaine addiction throughout the ’80s that sent him to rehab in 1990. As he later explained on Today, he grew up in the ’60s and ’70s when “there was a completely different attitude” towards the drug. “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” she wrote on Instagram two weeks later. Music is definitely the rapper’s vice, initially saying Wolf would consist of “weird hippie music for people to get high to”.
- “I had a problem, I think with any addiction you have to be ready to make the choice, whether it’s cigarettes or anything. You have to just commit and you just have to stick with it,” he said in an interview with Headkrack.
- We drink to get drunk and yet alcohol also frees us from our inhibitions.
- Kid Cudi’s first hit was his 2008 lonely stoner anthem “Day ‘n’ Nite.” In 2011 he announced that he had stopped smoking weed.
- Lupe Fiasco has always been a passionate artist, but he has also had a long battle with substance abuse.
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Eminem’s drug-fueled adventures in his younger years provided inspiration for some of the most colorful and depraved rap songs ever recorded. Eventually he developed a serious pill habit Valium and 30 Vicodin pills per day — that culminated in a near-fatal methadone overdose in 2007. Here are five rappers more rappers who have kicked their own drug and alcohol habits. They use their platform to raise awareness, encourage dialogue, and promote resources for individuals seeking help. Additionally, it is essential for the music industry to prioritize the well-being and long-term health of its artists over short-term gains.
- The old adage is that rock ‘n’ roll goes hand in hand with drugs, drinking, and partying like peas go with carrots.
- Many artists partake in smoking marijuana for the euphoria, some artists believe it enhances their ability to write a song, record, even perform.
- The “Lose Yourself” rapper reflected on his prior prescription pill abuse in his 2025 documentary Stans, noting an overdose and missing his daughter Hailie Jade’s birthday party prompted a change.
Some have personally struggled with addiction and needed to get clean to get their life in order. While many musicians struggle with drugs and alcohol, others choose to remain sober or get clean after experiences with addiction. Some famous rappers who don’t drink or do drugs went to rehab while other sober rappers quit cold turkey. A few famous rap stars who are sober even inspired other hip hop stars to kick their addictions for good.
In that same piece, Em is quoted as saying, “I had to regain motor skills, I had to regain talking skills.” His drug use affected him so severely that he had to relearn how to talk and how to rap. Relearn he did, but as much as we all might want a new, incredible Eminem album, I try to mostly just stay thankful that he’s still alive. In fact, the real challenge might be naming the artists who don’t get high, and in doing so we’ll see a different side of hip-hop, a side that’s always been there but doesn’t get nearly as much attention. Teigen wrapped up her post by expressing how thankful she is to be able to still be herself without drinking alcohol.
His glaring narcissism seeps through the cracks, an ironic lack of empathy and understanding for the woman who’s working day and night to keep him fed. She even refers to booze as “the first love of my life” in a 2012 interview with GQ. 2022’s “Mother I Sober” is one of the more cutting songs on that Kendrick Lamar album, as it narrates the depths of generational trauma. In the song, Kendrick specifically details how his mother didn’t believe him when he denied that his cousin molested http://washing.uio.com.tw/alcoholic-nose-understanding-the-redness-and-3/ him before revealing that Substance abuse she was a victim of abuse herself.
Kendrick Lamar is one of the most critically acclaimed rappers of this generation, and he has also achieved sobriety in recent years. In late 2011, he was hospitalized with pancreatitis and was told that if he didn’t stop drinking, he wouldn’t see his next birthday. “I still put it off and was trying to slow down on my own, like, ‘All right I’m only gonna let myself take two pills today. I’m only gonna drink this much of my bottle and make a mark on the bottle,'” he recalled. “And it would work a couple days—and then somebody throws a party.” With the dual releases of her fourth studio album No Shame and memoir My Thoughts Exactly, the singer spent much of 2018 getting brutally honest about the height of her addition problems. Notably, drug usage has troubled the career of Glo Gang boss Chief Keef.
Lil Wayne’s Road to Recovery
“I had a problem, I think with any addiction you have to be ready to make the choice, whether it’s cigarettes or anything. You have to just commit and you just have to stick with it,” he said in an interview with Headkrack. “I stopped everything cold turkey… I didn’t go to rehab. I don’t believe in these things. Some people need the extra help, not me.” All sober lives are different, but perhaps some more than others. Vince Staples already represents another facet of the sober life, in that he has never drunk, never taken drugs. I’m not the kind of person that will do something that I don’t want to do.” And in some ways, he would prefer to just leave it there.
Kid Cudi had a difficult upbringing that ultimately made him turn to drugs. He got increasingly into substance abuse the older he got, and it got worse the more prominent he became. The rapper had always dealt with anxiety and depression, but Alcoholics Anonymous he began to sink deeper into those waters as time passed. When it got so bad that he started subconsciously plotting his death, he knew something had to change. Cudi informed his manager about his intention to go into rehab and was checked in soon after.
At the time, he had no idea he would get addicted or how far the effects would reach. Unfortunately, he did struggle with substance abuse down the line, and much later, he discovered that his teenage daughter had started using as well. Dro shared that the discovery pushed him to check himself into rehab in 2021 and has stayed clean since.