The marriage between music and drugs is a complex, conflicted, and potent relationship. Much like a drug, music can dissolve the sensual surrounding of a listener, fragmenting that reality under the influence of resonating vibration and rhythm. A wondrous mythos surrounds modern musicianship and drug use. We speculate about a musician’s drug use and reflect on the best fit between particular drug and genre of music; ecstasy and electronic music, psychedelic and well psychedelia, hip-hop and chronic, just to name a few of the most popular. Musicians often sing about drugs or equate their rhymes and rhythms to the effects of hypnotic chemicals. But we also acknowledge that music can take you there all by itself without any need for the help of external substances.
On the social level, the contemporary glorification of the drug dealer’s hustle pervades our urban centers and captures the imagination of so-seeming innocuous suburbanites. Whether embodied by Notorious BIG’s “Ten Crack Commandments” or Clipse’s more recent “Grindin’”, the seduction of the pusher’s intense lifestyle and Scarface style obsession with the American dream still colors America’s collective imaginaire. But the rejection of these archetypes and unveiling of the broader political implications behind it push forward as well, as seen in the sounds of Nina Simone’s “Pusher” and Immortal Technique’s “Peruvian Cocaine”. Honey Knucles and myself, the humble magnificent Z Note try to sketch out these multifaceted levels of the modern marriage between drugs and music. Quasimoto’s The Unseen (Stones Throw, 2000) provide the background instrumentals — a Madlib effort famously orchestrated while the musician binged on psyclobin mushrooms and other magic potions.
As if all that wasn’t enough, we also feature a special guest for this week, New York DJ and beatsmith Las Flores Project! Mic Mistress Aisha and Honey Knucks host a prerecorded interview with LFP and discuss the legacy of David Axelrod and DJ Shadow as well as the future of musicianship. Las Flores also blesses the decks with a mad decent set, introducing us to his lush grooves and swishing, wildlife soundscapes. His wavelength is certainly another reminder that music can take you higher–all by way of its own powers–to an ephemeral place of euphoria, adventure and novelty.
Oh, and we’re still trying to find a song that personifies a male love interest as a drug. Think Rick James’ “Mary Jane” but using a masculine metaphor. Who’s got it?
Peace and bless 1!
- Z Note