"Because I Got High" is a

comedy hip hop Comedy hip-hop or comedy rap is a subgenre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music designed to be amusing or comedic, compared to artists who incorporate humor into their more serious, purist hip-hop styles. Satirical hip-hop is a variant of comedy hip-hop d ...

song by American rapper

Afroman Joseph Edgar Foreman (born July 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Afroman, is an American rapper. His debut studio album, '' The Good Times'' (2001), featured the singles " Because I Got High" and " Crazy Rap". He was nominated for a Gr ...

from the 2000 album of the same name. The lyrics of the song humorously describe how

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

use is degrading the narrator's quality of life. The song, which was written in only a few minutes, gained popularity after it was featured on ''

The Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...

'' and circulated on the Internet.

Overview

The lyrics relate the narrator's experience of planning to do several things, but failing to do so after having smoked

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. The song was written in a few minutes, and was reportedly motivated by the singer's realization that "everyone talks about smoking weed, but no one ever really talks about the effects of marijuana". In the August 20, 2001 issue of

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

magazine, the song was described as a "tribute to pot". Afroman is quoted as commenting, "You know what, dude? I made this tape for all my homeboys. I didn’t think I’d be talking to Time magazine. I’m a little worried about

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...

and

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1 ...

. I don’t want to get anybody riled up. I just figured, since I’m 'a pothead, why can’t me and the other potheads have a little joke between ourselves." The singer refused to label the song "anti- or pro-pot", saying, "I told the reality of the story. I spoke about my individual experience smoking marijuana, and my summary was, if you don't watch it, it will be too time-consuming." The song was said to have afforded Afroman

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

status. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

, who features in the video alongside

Jason Mewes Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse franchise. E ...

as the duo

Jay and Silent Bob Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by American actors Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively. They appear in the View Askewniverse, a fictional universe used in most of the films, comics, and television programs written and ...

smoking with Afroman, as well as a cameo by "Beer Man", and a glimpse of the Quick Stop where ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'' was filmed.

Reception

Afroman released his album ''Because I Got High'' in 2000, distributing it mainly through concerts. The title track was featured on ''

'', boosting its popularity, and was also widely shared on the file-sharing service

Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...

. It was used as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

of the film ''

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' is a 2001 American satirical stoner buddy comedy film written, co-edited, and directed by Kevin Smith and produced and co-edited by Scott Mosier. The film is the fifth set in the View Askewniverse, a growing ...

'' and was later featured in the films '' Disturbia'', '' A Thousand Words'', ''

The Perfect Score ''The Perfect Score'' is a 2004 American teen comedy-heist film directed by Brian Robbins and starring Chris Evans, Erika Christensen, Bryan Greenberg, Scarlett Johansson, Darius Miles, and Leonardo Nam. The film focuses on a group of six N ...

'' and the TV show ''

Snowpiercer ''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...

''. After the success of the song, Afroman was signed to

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

Track listing

Alternative versions

Afroman re-recorded the song in 2014, in the context of heightened debate around the legal status of cannabis in the United States, partnering with cannabis reform nonprofit

Norml The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML ) is a social welfare organization based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws in the United States regarding both medical and non-medical use. Ac ...

and

Weedmaps WeedMaps is a tech company serving the cannabis industry, founded in 2008 by Justin Hartfield and Keith Hoerling. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Weedmaps has more than 400 employees, and has offices in Denver, Tucson, New York, Barcelona ...

, expressing a pro-legalization stance highlighting the purported economic and health potential of the drug. This version was published ahead of several ballot measures dealing with the legalization of recreational cannabis, use scheduled for 4 November of that year in the American states of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. In 2024, the singer again released an alternate version of the song titled "Hunter got high", commenting on the

Hunter Biden laptop controversy In October 2020, a controversy arose involving a laptop that belonged to Hunter Biden. The owner of a Delaware computer shop, John Paul Mac Isaac, said that the laptop had been left by a man who identified himself as Hunter Biden. Mac Isaac also ...

and on allegations of drug use. A song with a similar theme was released by Detroit Junior in 1980, titled "If I Hadn't Been High."

Parodies and references

Musician Remy created a parody in 2024 about

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

title
Because It Got High

Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (July 7, 1956 – March 11, 2025) was an American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies. His al ...

included a Christmas-themed version, ''Be Claus I Got High'', on the 2002 album '' White Trash Christmas'', the fifth in Rivers's line of Christmas parody albums.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Chris Moyles Christopher David Moyles (born 22 February 1974) is an English radio and television presenter, author and presenter of '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on Radio X. Previously he presented '' The Chris Moyles Show'' on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2012 ...

recorded a parody under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Afro-Blair" featuring

Jon Culshaw Jonathan Peter Culshaw (born 2 June 1968) is an English actor, comedian and Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist. He is best known for his work on the radio comedy ''Dead Ringers (comedy), Dead Ringers'' since 2000. Culshaw has voiced ...

and another impressionist singing in the guise of the serving Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

, then Leader of the Opposition

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

and former Prime Ministers

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

and

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

. Parody artist

Rucka Rucka Ali Rucka Rucka Ali (; born January 27, 1987) is an Israeli-American rapper, singer, radio personality, comedian, YouTuber, and parodist. He has released eight independent studio albums, four of which have charted on the ''Billboard (magazine), Bil ...

made a version of the song called "Because I'm White" about stereotypes of White Americans and

white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the Social privilege, societal privilege that benefits white people over Person of color, non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or ...

in general. A parody was made about British politician

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...

after his scandal involving cocaine use.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
On the album ''

Mobilize Mobilize may refer to: * Mobilize (company), an American political technology platform * ''Mobilize'' (Anti-Flag album) (2002) * ''Mobilize'' (Grant-Lee Phillips album) (2001) * Mobilize.org, an American not-for-profit * Mobilize (marque), a mob ...

'' by punk band

Anti-Flag Anti-Flag was an American punk rock band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1988. The band was known for its left-wing politics, left-wing political activism. For the majority of the band's career, their members included Justin Sane (voc ...

, after several minutes of silence on the album's end track, a friend of the band called Spaz can be heard singing parts of the song with Anti-Flag.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2001 debut singles 2000 songs Afroman songs Comedy hip-hop songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Songs about cannabis UK singles chart number-one singles Universal Records singles Uptown Records singles American works about cannabis 2000 in cannabis