The first time was in December 2020, when he voluntarily sought out professional help. Dex has had several legal issues throughout his career and has been arrested a few times. In June 2022, he violated a protective order filed against him by his ex-girlfriend and was subsequently sent to jail. When he was released in September of that year, the rapper reportedly headed straight to rehab in the hopes of finally achieving sobriety. Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007),better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper andrecord producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as a founding memberof the Underground Kingz (UGK).

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Having grown up in Compton, Kendrick Lamar smoked and drank a bit as a teenager. Lamar recalled the conversation he had with his father in an interview with SPIN’s Jessica Hopper. Robert «Vanilla Ice» Van Winkle might not be the most obvious inclusion on a list of rappers with legitimate legal troubles … Unless you count his copyright infringement legal battle over «Ice Ice Baby,» and its similarities with the Queen and David Bowie tune, «Under Pressure» (via The Washington Post). However, he’s actually been in trouble with the law a surprising number of times.

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• Speaking in third person, he captioned the post, «Toosii if you don’t smoke or drink how do you have fun?,» dismissing any notion of relying on substances to keep himself busy.
• His death still remains a huge and sad loss to both his fans and the music industry, shedding light on the importance of mental health awareness.
• These days, prescription drugs seem to be a part of the rapper starter kit.

The rapid rise of drug references laid waste to Ice-T’s message of abstinence, as Jay Z, the Notorious B.I.G., and Snoop Dogg dropped albums with first-hand accounts of the 1980s crack epidemic. Their experiences selling drugs (and smoking them) translated into platinum-selling records, fueling a generation of rappers intent on telling the story of the hustler. By 1998, cocaine had overtaken marijuana as rap’s most talked-about drug.

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Not that he’s totally out of the red zone sober rappers (he recently had to close down a bunch of fast-food chicken restaurants), but at least he’s no longer battling an addiction to crack. In the early ’90s, Flav caught some flak from his fellow Public Enemy members for showing up late to shows, but they didn’t even know the real problem. He eventually checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic, and, y’know, found love in one form or another on VH1.

The 22-year-old rapper received widespread love from his collaborators and loved ones including the likes of renowned rappers like Gucci Mane. Chris Kelly, one-half of the iconic 1990s rap duo Kriss Kross, is another sad entry on our list of drug users who ended up overdosing on illegal drugs. Just like the media projects of the “Just Say No” era, these films all had anti-violence, anti-drug messages at their core.

• According to The National Institution for Drug Abuse, over 40 million people report suffering from a substance abuse disorder.
• In one post, he talked about how he relied on prescription pills for happiness, but that the feeling was always fleeting.
• Eminem has spoken candidly about his past struggles with substance use.
• Pharrell once ate six weed brownies and passed out in a bathroom, as he recalled in a 2013 interview with Nardwuar.

The drugs were thought to be a mixture for“purple drank,” a combination of codeine and promethazine, a commondrug reference in southern hip-hop culture. Valium and PCP were also found inhis blood during the autopsy. Hip Hop’s influence is indeed definitive, hardened and tangible. But even its artists, fans and utmost steadfast participants aren’t immune to the pitfalls induced by culture in the United States. A rapper merely echoes his environment, surroundings, influences and experiences.

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He also appeared on Jay-Z’s hit “Big Pimpin” in2000 as well as “Sippin on Some Syrup” by Three Six Mafia. After serving aprison sentence, he returned to rapping and was reportedly working on acollaboration with Too Short when he was found unresponsive in his hotel roomon December 4, 2007. His death was ruled as accidental with and was attributedto the effects of Butler’s heavy usage of “purple drank” in conjunctionwith his pre-existing condition of sleep apnea. Much like the battle against COVID-19, the drug and opioid epidemic has created its own host of challenges that influence the music, trends and peripheral creation of the art. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose deaths increased by nearly five percent from 2018 to 2019 and have even quadrupled since 1999.

• The list of rappers who’ve succumbed to drugs features a spectrum of artists.
• Lamar recalled the conversation he had with his father in an interview with SPIN’s Jessica Hopper.
• But he’s not the first rapper to fall victim to addiction, and thankfully, he’s still alive.
• As such, they became cult classics among young people of color and helped shape their perceptions of crack use and dealing.

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In an interview with GQ magazine, he spoke more extensively about his addiction to the antianxiety medication. Xanax is a benzodiazepine that is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders. Because of its euphoric properties, a host of rappers over the years — from Eminem to Kanye West — have espoused the drug in music.