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After a year in which Lil Pump’s “Gucci Gang” flirted with Billboard no. 1 status, he’s looking to build on that success – and do it without Xanax. One of the major talking points of 2017 was drug use in hip-hop. Throughout the year, critics and artists debated the prevalence of drug-fueled content in hip-hop – and how much impact that it had on society. While many artists mentioned their artistic license to reflect the times and create what they want, people like Pete Rock and others believed that drug use – specifically opioid and benzodiazepine usage – had gotten out of control in hip-hop. Their rhetoric was validated when rising artist Lil Peep suffered a fatal overdose in November. Lil Uzi Vert came out and admitted that Peep’s death hit home with him, and he publicly reckoned with his own drug use.
It’s not just him though. Lil Pump recently took to Instagram to commemorate the new year and note that he’s planning to be Xanax-free in 2018. The colorful rapper is one of the faces of hip-hop’s new school who has been known to pop Xanax bars for recreational purposes – but he’s aiming to put a halt to his use, proclaiming that it’s “f*ck xans.” Hopefully his brave decision will inspire his hoards of teenage followers to reflect on the potential risks of their own “hard drug” usage.
