As long as hip hop has existed, references to weed have been a part of the lyrical playbook, and artists have always spoke lovingly about cannabis in the most creative, poetic, bombastic ways, keeping fans excited and interested for decades. Cannabis and music have always gone together, and it’s been a creativity booster that never allowed prohibition to have the final word.
If you want to know what the hottest new cannabis strains are, look no further than current hip hop hits. Chart topping acts are at the pinnacle of their career, and if people are throwing free designer clothes and luxury alcohol, you can bet if they smoke cannabis they’re getting access that the rest of us can only dream about.
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Snoop Dogg to Rae Sremmurd, Sugar Hill Gang down to Wu Tang Clan, the world of cannabis and the sphere of hip hop overlap in a way many disciplines could only hope for, accepting cannabis as cultural fuel like any other thing we eat, drink, or buy.
The Fresh Toast spoke with cannabis culture figure and strain genius Mr. Sherbinski about his popular products—so popular that multiple rappers make reference to his gifts to weed fans, Gelato chief among them.
Sherbinskis is no stranger to the shoutout, their bold orange branding reminiscent of Hermès and supreme—exciting weed experts and fashionable hypebeasts alike. He says the closeness is not exclusive to the genre.
“I would say the relationship isn’t one over the other. Hip hop and cannabis are fluid. They go hand in hand. Cannabis even transcends musical genres,” Sherbinski said. “Throughout the history of music, even going back to the jazz greats, flower has been the fuel to spark the artist’s creativity before a set or recording.”
Current hip hop isn’t quite as subversive as the Wild West 90s, but it has always generated a sex and cannabis positive vibe that spread past their fan base. These 21st century morals have lead to more personal freedom and expression, and it’s amazing to see the unique ways in which hip hop music has morphed and the ways that it’s the also still the same classic sound.
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Sherbinski says the realism is what kept cannabis part of the mix.
“Rappers by nature speak about what their experiences are in their life and in their surroundings. That’s what rap is,” he said. “Generally speaking, flower is part of the artist’s daily life, so it’s only natural for rappers to speak about it. Their spoken word in music is what resonates with the youth and the people who listen to it, so it has heavy impact on what these people feel and shapes their attitude toward the plant.”
Some of the Gelato mentions to check out are:
- Young Dolph, “Gelato”
- Calvin Harris, “Slide” (“Gelato” rapped about by Offset)
- Famous Dex (Feat. Lil Baby and Rich The Kid) “Nervous”
In addition to the monster popularity of Gelato, you can find strains like Girl Scout Cookies, OG Kush, Purple Haze, Blue Dream, and other top strains are still being mentioned in the top songs, with artists like Migos, Wiz Khalifa, Bloc Boy JB, and even Drake getting in on the weed mentions. If you want to smoke like a rapper, all you have to do is pay attention to the lyrics.
