Most rappers get their due when it comes to associating themselves with marijuana. They receive credit for producing great music to enjoy while smoking and various rappers have successfully parlayed their brand into businesses within the cannabis industry. But as Killer Mike said recently, we don’t always attribute the success of recent decriminalization and legalization efforts to rappers in ways both big and small.
During a Washington Post panel called “Free to State,” which focused on the freedom of expression in the music industry, Killer Mike noted the disparity in attention rappers receive in the cannabis world. Politicians and activists across the country get their just due for recent marijuana reform, but Killer Mike argues rappers have been overlooked.
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“We know that with national decriminalization of marijuana now, a lot of people are going to get credit for it—a lot of activists, a lot of workers,” he said. “But I can show you a line that leads straight back to Cyprus Hill, that leads straight back to Snoop Dogg, that leads straight back to people like Rick James.”
“If it’s not duly acknowledged publicly—if the media isn’t pushing the line of that narrative, if the media isn’t giving us that freedom, if the media treats rappers differently than they do country artists—then you’re going to see a galvanization of what the prejudices that we already see,” he added.
You can watch Killer Mike’s comments, plus the rest of the panel, in full below.
