Sippin Lean & Spittin Game
|
Introducing Tha CarterDwayne Michael Carter, Jr, rapper, better known by the name Lil Wayne, also known as Weezy. Hailing from New Orleans and growing up in the Dirty South style of hip hop, Wayne was first signed to a record label at the age of 9 years old, and his first album Tha Block is Hot (1999) reached platinum status. While Weezy may be one of the most notable examples of the Dirty South genre, he isn’t the first. One of his notable predecessors, DJ Screw, was a driving force behind its genesis, and also one of the first to combine a slow beat with the use of codeine (Hall, Tart).
Codeine, found in cough syrup, is frequently referred to in hip hop by slang names such as “lean”, “syrup”, “purple drank” or just “drank”, and is typically consumed as part of a mixed beverage, along with Sprite or Mountain Dew, and ice (Hall, Tart). Lil Wayne also used codeine, as he states on his song Me and My Drank: “Drop some syrup in it, get on my waffle house I live in Wayne's world, represent our south And this is how we do it, do it in our south One more ounce will make me feel so great Wait... now I can't feel my face Um up in the studio me and my drank, me and my drank, me and my drank” (Lil Wayne). What was it about this cough syrup cocktail that made it so popular in the Dirty South? How did it affect Lil Wayne? Codeine: Rapper's DelightCodeine, an opiate derivative, had been around since isolation from poppies in 1832 (Narconon). Since then, it has been used mainly as an antitussive (anti-cough) medicine, as well as an anti-diarrhea agent. It is frequently in cough syrups that also contain Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication included because opiates tend to cause nausea in patients (Codeine, Narconon). These tend to be purple in color, hence the nick name “purple drank”. How does this drug go on to be the intoxicant of choice for the genre?
|
Codeine Mechanism: Breaking it Down
Effects on CreativityCodeine and the Dirty South style co-evolved in a geographic area where it made sense to slow down, especially in the summer’s high humidity and heat. In and around Houston, where DJ Screw was from, it seemed to make sense to play slower tempo music while driving across the long distances in a vehicle with tinted windows rolled up and air conditioning blasting (Hall). Adding lean to that mixture produces a slowed physiologic state to match the feel of the music, even making it easier to understand:
“Then, as I sipped my syrup, something happened. Like a shift in the afternoon light, the bass got deeper and the keyboards began ringing like bells. I wasn’t thinking about the music; I was feeling it. Everything made sense. Nothing seemed slow; everything was, for the lack of a better word, mellow.” - Hall As he rose to stardom in the hip hop world, what may have started out as recreational use of codeine for Lil Wayne quickly became a dependency. In both 2012 and 2013, he was hospitalized for seizures that were reported to be due to codeine binging. This is consistent with known adverse effects of long term abuse. In an interview after his discharge from the hospital, Wayne said to Katie Couric “I can’t (drink syrup anymore)… I was doing too much and the doctor kinda told me, ‘We can’t tell you what to do, but I suggest that your mom tell you to stop.’ She did.” (Tart). Ultimately, he did stop, ending a cycle of use and abuse that he was introduced to during his teenage years, and avoiding the death by respiratory arrest that ended the lives of his fellow artists. References: "Codeine (Oral Route) - National Library of Medicine." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. Hall, Michael. "The Slow Life and Fast Death of DJ Screw." Texas Montly 22 Sept. 2008. Texas Monthly, Apr. 2001. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. "Lil Wayne (Ft. Short Dawg) – Me and My Drank." Genius. Genius Media Group Inc., 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016. "Macklemore (Ft. Ryan Lewis) – Otherside." Genius. Genius Media Group Inc., 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. Narconon. "History of Codeine." History of Codeine. Narconon, 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. Tart, Christ. "Codeine Cowboys: Exploring Lean In Rap Culture." Codeine Cowboys: Exploring Lean In Rap Culture. Hot New Hip Hop, 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. |