A new study funded by the government found that more than a third (35%) of U.S. popular hip-hop and rap songs will mention marijuana in 2024. Researchers said that artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and others have contributed to this trend by encouraging a more “chilled lifestyle”.
According to the analysis—which was funded by the Ministry of Justice and Health in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein—37 percent of U.S. hip hop and rap videos in from the 2024 YouTube top 100 charts featured cannabis references, while an additional 4 percent talk about both marijuana and nicotine.
The top 41 percent are videos that embrace marijuana. They contribute to normalizing the use of marijuana in culture through art.
The study by researchers from the German Institute for Therapy and Health Research revealed that although 41 percent of the hip hop and the rap music videos discussed cannabis, 2 percent of songs in other genres with origins in the U.S. mentioned marijuana.
“Cannabis has been firmly anchored in the US hip-hop scene since the 1990s and has been particularly influenced by artists from the American west coast,” the study, published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, says. “Rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and The Game in particular are inextricably associated with cannabis and convey a ‘chilled’ lifestyle.”
The Afro-Caribbean subculture has long been rooted in American hip hop culture, and the legalization of cannabis is widely favored,” said they.
The study also looked at depictions of cannabis and nicotine in German music videos, finding that the U.S. trends were reversed there—with nicotine being more prevalent than marijuana in videos.
It is no surprise to learn that Snoop Dogg continues to influence the U.S. hip-hop and rap movement.
Snoop, who has become a fixture in the cannabis culture with songs such as “Gin and Juice”, is also expanding his cannabis business over the past few years. In June of last year, Snoop brought a new direct-to consumer hemp lifestyle platform under the Death Row Records label.
Snoop bought the Death Row Records music label in 2022. Since then, the cannabis icon uses this platform to bring together the cultures of the marijuana plant and its culture.
He also plans to expand his Smoke Weed Every Day brand in 2024. Brand with separate retail platform that sells hemp-derived products.
The platform is also used as a listing for S.W.E.D.’s physical retail marijuana locations, including a Los Angeles dispensary and a coffeeshop in Amsterdam.
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel recognized Snoop’s cannabis legacy in 2023 when he declared the artist’s birthday, October 20, the “new high holiday” of DoggFather’s Day.
While he might be best known as a prolific consumer, Snoop has also advocated for reform, which includes calling for a policy change at the NBA so that players could freely use cannabis off the court.
Last year, he said that he was in favor of the reform because it would be “healthy and could help to ease all the pain pills and injections that the patients have been receiving.”
Snoop has long been pushing athletics organizations to adopt lenient marijuana policies, often emphasizing that point that cannabis could serve as a less addictive and dangerous alternative to prescription opioids.
Researchers in Canada, in response to anecdotal evidence that is common among marijuana consumers, released in 2024 an article stating that marijuana could make music more pleasant. The study concluded that the “impact of cannabis on audio experience” may be enhanced compared with sober listening.
The study, published in 2021, explored the relationship between music and Psilocybin therapy. This contradicted popular belief that classical music was more effective.
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