Lean’s origins trace back to Houston, Texas, the place in which the recreational drug became ingrained into Hip-hop culture by an individual named DJ Screw. As an avid user of the drug, Screw’s music became a direct reflection of what it feels like to be on lean. He was the first person to chop up multiple songs and turn them into one, often utilizing a beat at a much slower tempo. “Screw would have two copies of the same record spinning on the turntables, one playing just behind the other, and he’d ‘chop’ back and forth between them with his crossfader at moments he wanted to bring out; scratching and running records back to repeat phrases and double up beats, sometimes dragging a finger alongside the wheel to give it a warble” reveals one example of the techniques Screw would use to get the desired sound he was looking for (Walker 2015). Further, techniques like these are what made DJ Screw an icon, and are seen on the first song of our Jacket, “My Mind Went Blank.” Our second song is “RIP SCREW,” a tribute to the DJ who passed away at the age of 29. His cause of death of course was a codeine overdose. Travis Scott, creator of the tribute song, is another Houston Hip-Hop artist, who has been heavily influenced by DJ Screw’s Music.

          Our third through seventh songs are other Southern Hip-hop artists who were influenced by Dj Screw as well. The first song is “The Percocet & Stripper Joint” off of Future’s album Dirty Sprite Two, One of the most prolific trap albums of all time, still was heavily influenced by Screw’s psychedelic style. This beat is very syrupy, or slow and droopy, overall and talks about codeine a lot. “I just poured this lean in my cup like its Liquor”. This iconic song simply had to be on the cover. The remaining three songs from this section of this record sleeve also go out of their way to idealize lean and its consumption. Gunna in his song “Out the Hood” says “Sip more than an ounce. I never imagine what I pour, don't know the amount” Young Thug’s “Two Cups Stuffed” and Futures “Codeine Crazy” Both have a lean reference in their names. A lot of rappers pour lean in double styrofoam cups in order to keep the drink colder. So when Thugger says they are stuffed he means full of lean. While in Futures song, Codeine crazy simply means he is addicted to cough syrup. 

          Screw’s influence that inspired the psychedelic hip hop subgenre has branched out from solely Houston, Texas and the South to all over the United States. Take A$AP Rocky for example, who is featured on track nine of “Purple Clouds” with his song “Purple Swag.” Rocky was born and raised in Harlem, New York, but mainly grew up drawing influence from the sounds of DJ Screw and his “Chopped ‘N Slopped” style of production and incorporates this into his music. Lastly, track 10 features Cleveland native Kid Cudi and his song “Pursuit of Happiness” which has influenced a new generation of some of the sounds of rap's biggest stars today. Psychedelic hip hop has even grown outside of the United States, with track eight “Myself” by NAV, who is a rapper-producer from Toronto, Canada. A sound that once was made specifically for the South has now grown nationwide, which speaks to the effect lean culture has had on hip hop music.

2. Jeff Chang, “Making a Name: How DJ Kool Herc Lost His Accent and Started Hip-Hop”

3. Eddie Glaude, “’Represent,’ Queensbridge, and the Art of Living”

4. Imani Perry, “Hip Hop’s Mama,” in Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop

5. Giles, C. (2021, May 28). Opioids like 'lean' permeate hip-hop culture, but dangers are downplayed. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://khn.org/news/article/opioids-like-lean-permeate-hip-hop-culture-but-dangers-are-downplayed/ 

6. Levy, L. (2018, February 6). These are the drugs influencing pop culture now. Vulture. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.vulture.com/2018/02/the-drugs-influencing-pop-culture-right-now.html#lean 

7. Hall, M. (2013, January 21). The slow life and fast death of DJ screw. Texas Monthly. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/slow-life-and-fast-death-of-dj-screw/

Links to the pictures

6. Codeine Crazy - Future (2014)

Although Future is a man with many signature tracks associated with his career, “Codeine Crazy” may be at the top of the list. Conceptually, the track lyrically breaks down Future’s dependence on codeine, a major ingredient in lean, when faced with breakdowns in his life (“Take all my problems and drink out the bottle…”), (“All this motherf***ing money got me codeine crazy”), (“Drownin’ in Actavis’, suicide”). Metro Boomin, one of the most prominent and gifted producers of today’s landscape of music, provides the timelessly dark instrumental to match the tone of the lyrics, further giving the listeners a sense of Future’s sorrows that he is experiencing while taking codeine. This is such a defining moment not only because of Future’s known history as a wholehearted drug user, but because of how introspective and personal he is able to get in crafting an entire dedicated to how lean has influenced his personal life. On top of this, Metro Boomin is able to perfectly capture the dark and gloomy nature of the lyrics and how lean users feel in the midst of their darkest moments.

7. Ain't Living Right - Juice Wrld & Future (2018)

In the Album “Future & Juice WRLD Present… WRLD ON DRUGS” a young Chicago artist named Juice WRLD released a full length album with an Atlanta veteran Future, in order to idolize drug use to the highest extent. The 14th song on the album does this most effectively. In the churros, Juice says “I don’t sell drugs, I cop them” and that he has been “living life all wrong” all with a very deep and strung out voice. Emphasized by drawing out the last syllable of each line of the chorus. However, unlike most of the songs on this list the beat on this song is not as strung out or slowed down. With this being said, it was still important to have it on the list because it shows the diversity that the subgenre as a whole. That rappers from different places can rap on instrumental that don’t specifically belong to one subgenre of rap. 

8. Myself - Nav (2016)

Myself is one of Nav’s most iconic songs. It perfectly blends his own gloomy and syrupy beats with his deep and robotic voice. While this does have a lot of southern influence, Nav is actually of Indian heritage and grew up in Toronto, Canada, but was inspired by Screw’s sound as a kid. In the hook of the song, Nav raps, “pour me up a four and I feel like myself again” In this line, “a four” is four ounces of promethazine, the name of the cough syrup that is used to make the drink. This hook became so popular it propelled him to being a mainstream artist and he used lean culture and music style to get there. 

9. Purple Swag - A$AP Rocky (2011)

Clearly showcasing his Southern hip hop influence, a young A$AP Rocky from Harlem, New York put out the second single for his debut mixtape Live. Love. A$AP. This influence holds true on “Purple Swag” as it is an ode to those who “get high on the regular” and regularly consume “drank” (lean) with its slowed down bridge and chorus along with the instrumental throughout the track that directly takes influence from Screw’s “Chopped ‘N Slopped” sound. The “Chopped ‘N Slopped” influence of the bridge and chorus is intended to take the listener on an experience reminiscent to that of someone who has drunk lean/purple drank. Rocky also directly implies he has consumed some lean with lines such as “purple drank, I still sip,” and “everything is purple.” This track not only set the standard for the sound of Rocky’s debut and the psychedelic sound he has mastered through the majority of his career, but also made it cool for a New York rapper to incorporate Southern elements and instances of drug use into his music.

10. Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi (2009)

A mainstay at any college party nationwide and arguably the most important and biggest hit of Cudi’s career, “Pursuit of Happiness” began Kid Cudi’s ascent to both superstardom and legendary status for our generation of music. At the time of its release, listeners have never heard a hip-hop track quite like “Pursuit of Happiness” before as it contains a futuristic and forwarding-sounding track that resembles more of a psychedelic feel prevalent in alternative rock rather than a hip hop track. The beauty and darkness of this track is that although the title seems associated with happiness and the song itself gives off a joyful feel, the message of the song is dreadful at times. This is the dilemma a drug user in instances of using drugs as an escape feels because a part of him wants to escape reality and go on a binge to pursue happiness, but the reality of the matter is abusing drugs can lead to terrible decisions that can cost one’s life. Although the song does not necessarily mention lean/codeine by name, “Pursuit of Happiness” encapsulates the advancement of Screw’s sound, the growth of the psychedelic hip hop subgenre, and the capability of this subgenre to touch on sensitive subject matters such as mental health, while still taking the listener on an excursion of a drug binge.