By Patrick Basler and Cameron Neimand
Marijuana. It’s legal. Well, in some places. Regardless of the green, leafy drug’s dubious legality, there’s a good chance your favorite musician has indulged in the reefer (if they’re a classic rocker) or the dank kush (if they’re a rapper of any type).
From Aerosmith’s “Reefer Head Woman” to Wiz Khalifa’s — well, any song by Wiz Khalifa — several musicians have mastered the art of smoking weed, singing about weed and somehow never running out of creative ways to say, uh, “weed.”
Here are 10 songs to play on the one day out of the year when marijuana is celebrated — April 20 — unless you smoke it and you’re celebrating all the time.
1. “I Think God Smokes Weed” by Echo Movement
What better to start this list than with a song that presumes even the divine creator likes to smoke up? Because once the big guy upstairs is doing it, who do you really need to convince anyways? Plus, it’s a reggae song!
2. “The Recipe” by Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre
Sure, plenty of rap songs talk about marijuana. But how many also sample a song that — wait for it — talks about marijuana? This one does. And it features a verse from West Coast weed spokesman Dr. Dre. As the song reminds you, California is known for its women and weather — but the weed is the important part.
3. “Droogs” by NxWorries
This funky number might technically be about drugs of all sorts, but the funky, laidback groove screams, “Hey, guys! We smoke weed!” If you sound as smooth as Anderson Paak does, that isn’t such a bad thing.
4. “Afghanistan” by Yung Lean
Not enough people are talking about the drug’s international roots. Luckily, Swedish teenage rap phenom — yes, we’re using that word very, very loosely — Yung Lean is here with a tribute to the Middle Eastern nation that produces some of the world’s best kush, according to Lean.
5. “Pass the Vibes” by Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment
Is “vibes” here a euphemism for marijuana? Maybe, maybe not — but since it’s one of the most relaxing songs in the known universe, we’ll let it slide. Actually, this song is so calm, you really don’t even need to smoke anything. Just put it on, kick back and … zzzz ….
6. “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley & the Wailers
Too many potheads with Bob Marley T-shirts have never actually sat down to listen to the reggae legend’s amazing catalog. If they’ve heard anything by him, though, it’s probably this song. And that’s more than OK.
7. “Eat It” by Weird Al
When it comes to the munchies…
8. “Xxplosive” by Dr. Dre
Yes, this is Dr. Dre’s second appearance on this list. Any other questions? The guitar loop on this song is easily one of the most iconic stoner soundtracks of all time. And we would hazard to guess that the song’s whole lineup — Hittman, Nate Dogg, Kurupt and Six-Two — have probably lit a joint or two.
9. “Pilot Jones” by Frank Ocean
What is probably the single most underrated on Frank Ocean’s far-from-underrated album Channel Orange, this track is a song about weed, but not one that glorifies it. That said, even without the sweet, drug-referenced story it tells (“You’re the dealer and the stoner with the sweetest kiss I’ve ever known”), the instrumental is dense and beautiful enough to encourage you to follow a similar path. And Frank’s voice is perfect, reminding us that we should be asking just one question: Where the f— is the album, Frank?
10. “Marijuana” by Chrome Sparks
This song references the drug in its title only, but this gorgeous instrumentation should only be legal in a few states, too — it’s that potent. So when you tell your friends that you’re listening to “Marijuana,” you might not even be as high as they think you are.
