“Even when I tried to get serious, I’d mess up and the song would go goofy. I’d start off as Ice Cube and end up as Will Smith. I wanted to be a good rapping funny dude.”
For a guy who grew up questioning what he read in the Bible, Afroman’s trajectory to stardom, beginning with his worldwide breakout hit “Because I Got High” draws some pretty strong parallels–even parables.
Rapping since he was in elementary school, Afroman had worked for years trying to make it in the music business with little success. One night at a rave in New Orleans, he decided to test the idea that it is better to give than to receive. He gave away a box of his CDs to 500 of his fellow ravegoers and went back to his house in Mississippi. Within 72 hours, thanks to early streaming services like Napster, the song went viral around the world, even gaining attention from superstar radio DJ Howard Stern. Afroman would come to the conclusion, citing Jesus’ own story as an example, “the lowest low makes the highest high.”
These days he still smokes weed occasionally, but gets a real high from making himself and his audience laugh. Every time someone hears one of his songs for the first time, and it makes them laugh, Afroman laughs like it’s the first time, too. And when the jokes stop being funny, the sound keeps everybody dancing. As a lifelong fan of rap, he’s got the skills of more serious rappers, but ultimately wants to bring happiness, giving everyone a good time, and receiving a good time in return.
He also does unto others what he wishes others had done unto him. Having had his confidences betrayed and off-the-record remarks recorded without his consent, he now shares others secrets only with God. Join this hilarious discussion with Afroman to hear his thoughts on strong women, the difference between being an ethical non-monogamist and a player, and the internet thieves who stole his domain name–because he got high.
Quotes
- “I’ve made studios in motel rooms. I had a dude set up his computer, take the mattress and make a soundbooth. My best record was done in my back room—we had a house in Mississippi set on bricks, so the water could go underneath when the frequent floods come—and I had a preacher mic with a dirty sock on it. I didn’t have a P popper, there was a sock laying over it in the corner. And I could tell when I was getting too close to the mic because I could smell the sock.” (0:43 | Afroman)
- “The lowest low makes the highest high. The thing about a movie, a movie always takes you low and then they give you that good ending. Jesus, they crucified him on the cross but he ascended to heaven, now there’s a building on every corner worshiping him because he had the lowest low and the highest high. Yeah, I scraped the bottom, but that only made the story sweeter. So, if you have bad luck in life, and you keep going, the victory’s going to be that much sweeter.” (3:17 | Afroman)
- “I am a rap fan. There are some good rappers. There’s a rapper who’s really good but he’s always serious…He’s always bad. Even though he’s a better rapper, I had more fun with the 2 Live Crew. They couldn’t rap worth a damn but, damn, I had a good time. So, what I wanted to be was a rapper who could rap but chose to have fun.” (8:12 | Afroman)
- “I don’t want to write another sad song. Every time I sing ‘Because I Got High,’ it reminds me of all those good occasions and I start laughing all over again. So, if I wrote a really sad song that really depressed me, every time I sing it it’s going to take me to that other place. ‘Afroman committed suicide in his hotel room today. An overdose of Fentanyl and heroin and everything else.’ If I keep singing and depressing myself then I get depressed. But when I sing ‘Because I Got High,’ not only do I make other people laugh, I make myself laugh and I’d rather be uplifted than depressed.” (10:55 | Afroman)
- “If you talk to me and you want that to be confidential, then that’s what it’ll be. I don’t like when I talk to people and if it’s not an interview I know about, they’ve got a microphone going, videotaping me and I don’t know it. Or I tell them something and I start hearing it everywhere, and I think, ‘That’s what I get for opening my heart to that guy, right there.’ So, of course because if I’ve had it done to me, I don’t want to be that guy. If you tell me something, if I feel some kind of way I’ll pray about it, but your business is between you and God. If you share it with me, it’s not going nowhere.” (20:18 | Afroman)
Links
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Connect with Afroman
https://www.ogafroman.com/
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https://www.facebook.com/ogafroman
https://www.youtube.com/ogafroman
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