From Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, Rappers Who Embraced Sobriety

While drugs and music can be close bedfellows, we’d all much rather have our favorite artists alive and healthy than partying like a rockstar and headed toward an early grave. It’s important to take a step back and remember that not everyone needs to be high to be dope. Music has the power to touch people in ways that words alone cannot. It has the ability to lift our spirits and provide a form of escape, even if only for a moment. Some musicians have chosen to lead a sober lifestyle and have used their talent and platform to inspire others and raise awareness about the importance of sobriety. Kanye has spoken publicly about his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse in the past, and in 2019 he revealed that he is now a year Drug rehabilitation sober.

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Many rappers are known for celebrating drink and drugs, from smoking weed, to sipping lean, to popping Xanax. But there are plenty of rappers who find that life is better without substances. This article will introduce you to some of our generation’s sober rappers. Call them straight edge, call them teetotal – these guys have discovered that alcohol and drugs don’t do them any good. It turns out that some of the most famous and successful rappers of all time don’t drink alcohol or take drugs.

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Back in 2020, during an interview with Converse for their Creative All Star Series, Tyler, The Creator shared that he’s never been interested in drinking, though he’s tried weed twice. Then he noted that his “addictive personality” is what could potentially lead to his downfall. “I’m in a financial place where I can enable it myself, and I don’t ever want to be that guy,” he affirmed. According to his own social media posts Ice-T is pretty much – if not entirely – sober. Like many, the artist struggled during the Covid pandemic, and during lockdown he relapsed.

Other charted songs

By living clean and being open about it, the same effect can be felt. Arceneaux and Petrou have always been quite secretive when it comes to their personal lives. However, they both refer to women they have dated in their songs, most notably “CLYDE (I Hope at Least One of My Ex-Girlfriends Hears This)” from the extended play I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Heel (II).

Tyler, The Creator: “Sober is My Superpower”

On December 11, 2023, the duo announced a tour of Australia and New Zealand in March 2024. The tour featured other artists, like Ghostemane, Pouya, Germ and Shakewell. The tour passed through cities such as Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. On May 19, 2023, the duo announced the 4th year of their annual tour “Grey Day”36 to go from August 25, 2023, to October 30, 2023. Grey Day 2023 brings other artists Ramirez, City Morgue, Ghostemane, Freddie Dredd, and Sematary. On December 13, 2022, the duo announced a European Tour30 to go from March 6, 2023, to March 26, 2023.

• Originating in Chicago, and created by brothers Brian and Brett Berish, 3 Vodka was distributed by Sovereign Brands.
• He was able to turn his life around in 2011, and since then he has been open about his sobriety journey.
• Last year he shared a photo on social media of a coin celebrating 11 years of sobriety with the inscribed words “to thine own self be true.” The rapper wrote then that he’s “still not afraid.”
• No doubt the rapper and businessman’s sobriety has helped him in his ventures, which have seen him become one of the most successful rappers of his generation.
• Arceneaux and Petrou have always been quite secretive when it comes to their personal lives.

Sober Rappers

In an interview with Vibe, he explained why he stopped using drugs around that time. “…I actually looked in the mirror and saw myself deteriorating. I was like man we’re doing too much. Way too much.” Along with being sober, Andre 3000 has also been a vegetarian for nearly two decades. Multi-talented Pharrell Williams chooses to abstain from drug use. “Everybody else can do what they want, but that stuff isn’t for me. I’ve been drunk nine times in my life, and I ate some weed brownies once,” he told Paper Magazine. Pharrell once ate six weed brownies and passed out in a bathroom, as he recalled in a 2013 interview with Nardwuar. He rapped about drug use on his first few albums, but it was not until after 2004’s Encore that he sought help.

• He has described the shame and isolation he felt, taking drugs alone and hiding it from other people.
• “Everybody else can do what they want, but that stuff isn’t for me. I’ve been drunk nine times in my life, and I ate some weed brownies once,” he told Paper Magazine.
• “Well… I got a bowling problem,” he continued, evidenced in the 30 plus balls that he was pictured laying in front of.
• Joe Budden is best known for his work with hip-hop group Slaughterhouse.
• Along with benefits such as improved sleep, energy levels and wellbeing, it’s no surprise that the likes of Brad Pitt and more recently Tom Holland have decided to swerve the sauce.

50 Cent may have briefly dealt drugs as a youth, but he has always refrained from using them himself. In a CNN interview, Fifty said that he has always “stayed away” after seeing family members use substances and witnessing the effect it had on them. In July 2022, the third studio album and 47th project from the duo, Sing Me a Lullaby, sober rappers My Sweet Temptation, its tracklist and covers were all announced on June 2, 2022, via an Instagram post. While his popularity has decreased over the years, Cheapy still remains the only MC from the Sutherland Shire to ever get successful so far in the Australian rap scene and acts as a mentor for young, upcoming rappers.

Common is well known as a conscious rapper who advocates for love, peace, and all things pure. Despite being connected to the mainstream party culture, Common parties clean. Andre 3000 may experiment with bow ties and suspenders, but he doesn’t toy with drugs. Word has it that Ice Cold hasn’t touched a mind-altering substance for nearly two decades. Andre decided to make the change after partying too hard in his younger days.

With a background in academia, he is passionate about bringing rigour and insight to music journalism. After struggling with cocaine, Kid Cudi first went to rehab in 2016 aged 32. He has described the shame and isolation he felt, taking drugs alone and hiding it from other people. One of Kendrick Lamar’s first big hits, ‘Swimming Pools (Drank)’ addressed some of his experiences with alcohol and his feelings towards it.