Gucci Mane’s’ story with alcohol and drugs is one of radical transformation. In an interview with the New York Times in 2016, the trap legend described that he had not been fully sober since the age of 21. He would drink alcohol, lean, ecstasy, and prescription pills. It turns out that some of the most famous and successful rappers of all time don’t drink alcohol or take drugs.

• In that same piece, Em is quoted as saying, “I had to regain motor skills, I had to regain talking skills.” His drug use affected him so severely that he had to relearn how to talk and how to rap.
• “I’m in a financial place where I can enable it myself, and I don’t ever want to be that guy,” he affirmed.
• Much like the athletes whom he seeks to emulate, Cole becomes a vicarious bearer of hope.
• Additionally, he elaborated that his father was addicted to drugs and did not want to follow the same path.

Rappers Who Addressed Their Addictions

He rapped about drug use on his first few albums, but it was not until after 2004’s Encore that he sought help. His 2009 album, Relapse, was a direct result of a relapse following the death of his best friend, rapper Proof. After becoming sober, Eminem reemerged with Recovery, his incredibly successful seventh album chronicling his journey to sobriety. It was a deeply personal album that separated him from his Slim Shady alter ego.

Eminem

Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, seeing he was in danger of drugs taking over his life, checked himself into rehab and has been sober ever since. His rehab also led to him founding the side project, Mad Season. He was also recently honored for his recovery work in Seattle. Eminem’s Bad Meets Evil cohort, Royce Da 5’9”, is currently killing the rap game dead sober. One of the biggest storylines on Royce’s remarkably personal Layers album is his newfound sobriety.

Quick escape, quality time

• More than a hundred of these charted on Billboard Hot 100, surpassing Elvis Presley.
• I’d have to imagine that’s what it’s like all the time for sober artists.
• Yet, fame in the hip-hop world is not restricted to established names.
• A former drug dealer, 50 Cent is sufficiently knowledgeable about the adverse effects of drug abuse.
• Common is well known as a conscious rapper who advocates for love, peace, and all things pure.
• TGM Radio’s Privacy Policy does not apply to other advertisers or websites.

Tyler’s straight-edge lifestyle has been a large part of his personality from the very beginning, despite being surrounded by his permanently stoned Odd Future sober rappers crew 90% of the time. A life-long musician, a former promoter, and a vinyl enthusiast, he loves digging into the stories behind the great artists of our time. With a background in academia, he is passionate about bringing rigour and insight to music journalism. According to his own social media posts Ice-T is pretty much – if not entirely – sober. In a 2022 interview with Self, he discussed how avoiding overworking, limiting his use of social media, and feeling inspired and motivated by his daughter help him to stay clean.

• In an interview with the New York Times in 2016, the trap legend described that he had not been fully sober since the age of 21.
• How do you really have fun if there isn’t a little drink in you?
• The King of the South got hooked on oxycontin and hydrocodone after a series of major dental surgeries.
• Then he noted that his “addictive personality” is what could potentially lead to his downfall.
• With a background in academia, he is passionate about bringing rigour and insight to music journalism.

Related Posts

A shifting attitude toward addiction and mental illness has taken place among the rap community. From Macklemore speaking with Obama about opioid abuse to Logic releasing a song about suicide awareness, more rappers today are bringing these subjects to the forefront. He rapped about drug use on his first few albums, but it was not until after 2004’s Encore that he sought help. But J. Cole doesn’t allow for nuance or exceptions because he’s too busy making sure you understood the first half of his latest conspiracy regarding taxes, unspecified corporations, and someone’s funeral.

On “Otherside,” Macklemore raps about Lil Wayne being a major influence of his personal codeine addiction. Minus one relapse he’s had with codeine, Macklemore has been clean since August of 2008. While many musicians struggle with drugs and alcohol, others choose to remain sober or get clean after experiences with addiction. Some famous rappers who don’t drink or do drugs went to rehab while other sober rappers quit cold turkey. A few famous rap stars who are sober even inspired other hip hop stars to kick their addictions for good. Arguably the most successful rapper of all time, Eminem has had an incredibly successful career after overcoming a long history of substance abuse.

Songs Val Kilmer Wrote for His Under-the-Radar 2007 Album ‘Sessions with Mick’

However, not all artists need to spark the ‘bud’ to produce fire vocals on the beat. Prolific songwriter and rapper Pharrell Williams is one of the most important figures in the music industry of the past two decades. 50 Cent may have briefly dealt drugs as a youth, but he has always Drug rehabilitation refrained from using them himself. In a CNN interview, Fifty said that he has always “stayed away” after seeing family members use substances and witnessing the effect it had on them.