References to drugs in rap could be traced back to its inception, but they were prevalent in the rap coming out of the South in the 90s. Memphis' Three 6 Mafia in particular was known for discussing sizzurp in their songs, as they did in their 2000 hit, "Sippin On Some Syrup". After Three 6 Mafia disbanded and Juicy J pursued a solo career, drugs still remained a central theme in his music. "Stay trippy, mane" became a slogan of his.
Despite this history, Juicy J is now denouncing his involvement in promoting drug culture in hip hop. "If I inspired anybody to do drugs I apologize," he tweeted on Saturday. This embracing of responsibility could be seen as a change of perspective for Juicy J, because after Pimp C passed away, he told HipHopDX, “Whatever a person wanna do, man, they do they thing and we do our thing.”
This apology comes in the wake of Juice WRLD's death, which is suspected to have been drug-related. Vic Mensa recently claimed that "rap is much to blame" for Juice's death, echoing a common concern that there's a dangerous glorification of drugs - specifically lean and opioids - within the hip hop community. Others argue that the drugs are often not glorified, but mentioned as a result of artists' struggles with addiction.