For decades musicians from all genres have written songs about marijuana. Reggae legends Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, metal pioneers Black Sabbath, hip-hop acts Cypress Hill, Method Man, Snoop Dogg and Luniz and funk icon Rick James have all sung the praises of weed. Perhaps they all took a cue from folk troubadour Bob Dylan who proclaimed in 1966’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” that “everybody must get stoned.” Songs about ganja aren’t as prevalent in dance music, but there are a few notable ones. In honor of April 20 (a.k.a. 4/20), we present a playlist of dance songs celebrating the green stuff.
1. Detroit Grand Pubahs – “Weed in the Kitchen”
A raw ghetto-house booty-shaker from Paris the Black Fu and The Mysterious Mr. O based on a straightforward vocal hook asking where du weed at?
2. DJ Sneak – “Marijuana”
House maestro DJ Sneak is open about his love of weed, and he’s penned many a track about it. This floor mover is founded on a bumpin’ ChiTown groove and samples from a TV news report about the scourge of drugs.
3. Weed People – The Greenland EP
A rare 1995 release produced by Roy Davis, Jr. under his Weed People moniker for Belgium’s Radical Fear. Check out the vinyl artwork and buy it on sight if you lay eyes on it.
4. Pretty Lights – “You Get High”
Though the song’s lyrics don’t specifically mention anything bud related, Pretty Lights (a.k.a. Derek Vincent Smith) is one of EDM’s proudest stoners. Need proof? This song clocks in at exactly 4:20.
5. Shy FX + Skiba + Shabba – “I Smoke Weed Everyday”
This is a rough and tough old-school jungle jam that still gets lighters up in the air whenever a DJ drops it. Rewind, selecta!
6. Zomby – “Spliff Dub”
A bass-heavy ragga-dubstep offering from 2008 centered around a vocal mantra: “One spliff a day keeps the evil away.”
7. Chrome Sparks – “Marijuana”
The alias of Ann Arbor-based producer Jeremy Malvin turned heads last year with this hazy, lush track that’s much more than 420 music.
8. C&C Music Factory – “Take a Toke”
In the ’80s Clivilles and Cole rose from underground jocks to big-time club remixers, regularly turning tracks by pop music’s elite into tunes for the dance floor. Here they switched gears with an R&B jam that was pretty bold for the day. “Take a toke but baby it’s no joke. So strong it’ll make you choke.”
9. Lords of Acid – “Marijuana in Your Brain”
Known for shocking their audiences on record and live, LoA’s ode to the chronic was a pretty stoney affair. “Fluffy clouds are passing by/So stoned….so stoned.”
10. Skream – “Dutch Flowerz” (Rusko Remix)
A 4:21 dubstep track from Skream’s 2006 debut album about the bud/flower from marijuana is remixed by Rusko, a proud member of the 420 family.