5 Best Songs About Drugs

There are a few themes that come up over and over again in popular music. We have all heard the many songs about things like heartbreak and the transient nature of youth that all seem to mirror each other. Another popular musical trope, usually hidden behind code words and innuendo, is drug use. Here are some of the very best songs about drugs.

5. C*Caine – Eric Clapton

A lot of songs about drugs hide the reference behind subtle poetry, but that is not the case for the song “Ccaine” by Eric Clapton. In this track, the legendary guitar god attempts to convince the listener to try the drug in no uncertain terms. “Ccaine” was released in 1977 and helped lead to a surge in the drug’s popularity that would last through the entire 1980s.

4. Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd

The Weeknd burst onto the popular music scene in 2015 with a series of hit singles from his album Beauty Behind the Madness. One of these was “Can’t Feel My Face”, which comes off as a song about passionate love affair that may not always be the good kind. In reality, The Weeknd is singing about his struggles with drugs by personifying them as a lover who he knows is bad for him, but he still can’t stay away from.

3. Eminem – Drug Ballad

A very different commentary on drugs than would come on Eminem’s latter albums, “Drug Ballad” celebrates youth and drug culture with a wistful, live-for-today nonchalance.

2. Future & Juice WRLD – “WRLD On Drugs”

Juice WRLD (999) and Future link together for an explosive mixtape called Wrld ON DRUGS. This album is a medley of Future’s trap capabilities and Juice WRLD’s punk rap tendencies. Some of the stand out songs on the tape include Astronauts, Red Bentley, Realer N Realer and my personal favorite, WRLD On Drugs. The album is produced by the producer “WheezyX5” who is known for his collaborations with Quavo, Gunna, Young Thug, Future and Drake.

1. Lil Wayne – I Feel Like Dying

In 2017, naming a song “I Feel Like Dying” is par for the course. Emo rap—the kind that delights in suicidal ideation and props itself up on misery—is at its most popular point to date, with its strongest proponents beginning to make the jump from the loud corners of the internet to the Billboard Hot 100. But a decade ago, Lil Wayne was planting the seeds from which a generation of rap would grow, for better and for worse.