At least when Cole spits, he means it; his words feel tangible. Many rappers are known for celebrating drink and drugs, from smoking weed, to sipping lean, to popping Xanax. But there are plenty of rappers who find that life is better without substances. J. Cole’s KOD album even explored the severity of drug abuse and addiction. Unfortunately, drug use in hip hop is nothing new, as we have lost talents like Pimp C, Mac Miller, and Juice WRLD to overdoses. As a result of the toll that addiction can take on an individual, many rappers have become sober and are inspiring others to do so as well.

• Andre decided to make the change after partying too hard in his younger days.
• Even back in his chasing Sherane days, Kendrick wasn’t really getting high (blame the shenanigans).
• But African-Americans are 20 percent more likely than the general population to endure a severe mental health disorder, such as major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
• For the next few years, the rapper struggled with addiction to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien, and Valium.
• Many have penned verses about taking drugs to cope with trauma and depression.

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Not long ago Sosa finished his stint at a rehab center, though we know what his response was to that. In an interview with Billboard, fans were generally overjoyed to hear Chief Sosa admit he „don’t sip the lean no more,“ considering the sloppiness of his last two mixtapes. In a 2022 interview with Self, he discussed how avoiding overworking, limiting his use of social media, and feeling inspired and motivated by his daughter help him to stay clean. After struggling with cocaine, Kid Cudi first went to rehab in 2016 aged 32. He has described the shame and isolation he felt, taking drugs alone and hiding it from other people.

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It’s hilarious that Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call” falls into this story. His recollection Sober living house is probably not how things actually went down, but I love the image of Pharrell working with Usher, discovering the music of a young T.I., and then hours later passing out in a bathroom. Pharrell’s brain is clearly otherworldy enough on its own to travel to other worlds without any help.

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• He got increasingly into substance abuse the older he got, and it got worse the more prominent he became.
• Let’s jump in and find out about the sober rappers who are shunning drugs and liquor today.
• A few famous rap stars who are sober even inspired other hip hop stars to kick their addictions for good.
• While he’s said that he’s never really had any desire to drink or do drugs, it’s also notable that he’s pretty naturally turnt up as it is.
• However, he did not put much effort into fighting it until 2014.
• Also, some artists proudly speak out against the current drug obsession in Hip Hop.

In a CNN interview, Fifty said that he has always “stayed away” after seeing family members use substances and witnessing the effect it had on them. To people who are struggling right now, recovery starts with being honest with yourself, and then seeking help. The natural tendency as someone with active addiction is to hide, to lie, to manipulate. It’s so important that we’re honest with ourselves and with our loved ones. We are not responsible for the disease, but we’re responsible for what we do about it.

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• Macklemore has struggled with remaining sober his whole life.
• At the peak of his addiction, the rapper reveals that he was taking 75 to 80 valium per night.
• Several dinosaurs are out there living by the drug-free, or straight edge, code.
• The old ways are being left behind for a new understanding of addiction and mental health.
• Having grown up in Compton, Kendrick Lamar smoked and drank a bit as a teenager.

The old ways are being left behind for a new understanding of addiction and mental health. Eminem is now well-known not only as one of the most influential rappers of all time, but as a rapper who is continuing to overcome his struggle with addiction. At the peak of his addiction, the rapper reveals that he was taking 75 to 80 valium per night.

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This is not an article telling anyone how to live; this is not an article advocating the wisdom or foolishness of different paths. What they have in common is that they are all, by their own account, for now, living sober. And quite evidently they all strongly believe—whatever their varying reasons and circumstances and perspectives and challenges—that sobriety has made life better. Trying to be more social, more visible, blend his new life with his old one, find balance. He’s pulled back far enough to be comfortable, but increasingly, he’s leaning back in. Not because he wants anything in particular; only because this time, he’s more sure of who he is.

No doubt the rapper and businessman’s sobriety has helped him in his ventures, which have seen him become one of the most successful rappers of his generation. From big cities like Los Angeles to rural towns like Gibsland — population 878 — opioid misuse among some young, hopeful listeners is about emulating their favorite rap star’s enviable image. I can’t speak to what anyone else needs, but for me, it was going to inpatient treatment and 12-step meetings. Part of the 12-step literature states that we’re supposed to be anonymous. Because of that, there is an air of secrecy that comes with the program. Clapton has been sober for almost 30 years and wrote very frankly about his struggles with addiction in his memoir, Clapton.

In 2013, Hudson told Chelsea Handler that she has “never had a drink in her life.” She simply has never been interested in drugs or alcohol. Some hew closely to the language of recovery programs; some don’t. 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. 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. 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.

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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. Although it was a tough ride, and he tried to escape three times sober rappers in the process, Cudi eventually beat his addiction. But J. Cole doesn’t allow for nuance or exceptions because he’s too busy making sure you understood the first half of his latest conspiracy regarding taxes, unspecified corporations, and someone’s funeral. KOD is a conscious album responding to hip-hop’s obsession with prescription drugs and self-medication—and in this respect, it has every right to point some fingers. Yet, Cole is the type of rapper who’s still not comfortable admitting he doesn’t know everything, sometimes drowning in ideology that’s less than imaginative.

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„I’m in a financial place where I can enable it myself, and I don’t ever want to be that guy,“ he affirmed. Six months later, he moved back to Chicago, his hometown, and stopped using drugs. Despite its health risks, marijuana continues to be championed by rappers =https://ecosoberhouse.com/ today. Jordan Stephens has revealed how a drug addiction contributed towards the break-up of hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks.