Researchers recently conducted a study on Addictions.com and just found some shocking discoveries. The hip-hop music genre does NOT, in fact, mention drugs more than other music types. Say what?
Credit: Giphy
While hip-hop is notorious for being stereotyped as a genre ridden with mention of illicit drugs, a recent study found that it’s not quite the category it’s branded to be. In fact, in an unexpected finding, hip-hop actually came last on the list of the top eight genres examined.
Credit: Addictions.com
This points to a classification of hip-hop that has been wrong for perhaps years. Instead, the winning genre of most drug references in songs is, surprisingly, country. The genre has “1.6 mentions per song on average, followed closely by jazz and pop music.” Hip-hop, however, has less than 1.3 remarks about drugs per song.
One researcher at Addictions.com, Logan Freedman, offered his views to Newsweek. Of the increasing drug references in country music and the declining mentions in hip-hop, he had this to say,
“I think there was a huge drug culture in the 90s that was blossoming into rap music that simply isn’t as big as it once was.
It’s really amazing. I think because marijuana has become more normalized in our culture, a lot of country artists are singing about it more often than ever.”
The data also analyzed that 30% of the drugs most referenced, across all genres, was weed.
The genre of hip-hop itself may have come in last in terms of how much songs allude to drugs, but rap kings such as Eminem, Jay-Z, and Lil’Wayne are known to use very explicit references to drugs and their recreational use.
They still make some fire music though. Just let them do their thing.
Want more sick music? Click here to watch Eminem prove he is the best rapper on Earth.
