My Top 5 Hip Hop Weed Anthems
A Marijuana Mix Tape
In a recent podcast recording session with the Grass Agency, we were giving credit to hip hop (mainly of the West Coast variety) for creating cannabis anthems, songs that set the framework for etiquette and served as an instructional guide for how to check the quality of your weed, how to smoke it, what to call it, and how it should make you feel. We threw around a few songs and I thought on it for a few days before compiling my top five. Sit back, light one up, and enjoy.
*Disclaimer: It’s obvious that most Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg songs are fraught with weed references so finding one song of theirs to add to the list was a bit of a stretch. I also recommend Dre’s “Chronic 2001” over any of his others. The same goes for all of Cypress Hill’s music and I’m super down for all things B Real.
5. Bone Thugs N Harmony: “Buddah Lovaz”
There’s no denying the straight-up melodic mastery that is Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Looking holistically at their body of work, “Notorious Thugs” is my favorite of their songs, but Rec’d cohost Reena Karia pointed out this hidden gem that pays homage to the almighty Buddha aka weed. “Keep hittin' that reefer, sendin' me straight to heaven,” lets you know that blissful state you should be in after smoking and know that hydro is short for hydroponic which is basically a way to grow weed.
4. RBL Posse: “Don’t Give Me No Bammer Weed”
A common theme in songs about weed is staying away from “sticks, stems, and seeds,” and this song is no different. “If it's in a zag or a pipe It's quite expensive, so you better smoke it right.” No truer words were spoken by RBL (Ruthless By Law) Posse in the early 1990s.
3. Mista Grimm featuring Warren G & Nate Dogg: “Indo Smoke”
This is a sing-song nursery rhyme style track that walks us through the marijuana lexicon- the difference between indo weed and stress (shitty weed), the fun times you’ll have and even has a hook by the legendary Nate Dogg. Are you high yet? I love this song more than most because in high school I was selected to represent my school at a statewide leadership camp at Pepperdine University. On night two of the camp, we had a dance where at some point nearly every single student sang in unison to this song. Be them from the urban areas of LA to the suburban sprawl of Sacramento to the rural ass high schools like mine, we were one when this song came on and that says a lot considering I remember specifically dancing in a group of students including one that is now a state senator. Gotta love California!
2. Wiz Khalifa featuring Snoop Dogg and Bruno Mars: “Young, Wild & Free”
This song is straight fun. No matter what age you are, you’re transported back to that age or mindset where it’s easy to sing along, “So what we get drunk. So what we smoke weed. We're just having fun. We don't care who sees. So what we go out. That's how it's supposed to be. Living young and wild and free.” The relationship between Snoop and Wiz Khalifa feels like a senior in high school passing their place on the quad to the up and coming freshman star. It’s kind of true though. Both Snoop and Wiz Khalifa have huge stakes in the legal weed game and it’s refreshing to see this multi-generational anthem. So refreshing you won’t even care about the women being objectified in a stereotypical way!
1. Luniz: “I Got Five On It”
And here we are, #1. “Grab your bowl, let’s get keyed!” Also, throw down some money if you want to get high with your friends because nobody likes a freeloader. Mike Marshall’s hook is nothing short of hypnotic and this is a timeless classic explaining the communal nature of cannabis. I can’t get enough of this song over twenty years later.
And that’s my list! Sure, there are some rock songs, countless reggae classics, and others in between (I’m looking at you, Sublime). In due time I’ll make some other lists, but let’s be real, hip hop deserves much of the credit for ushering many of us into the cannabis space over the last thirty years.