x-x-x-x-x. drugs, shamanism, hunter s. thompson

Twenty One/February/Five

     
     
 
then there’s art that’s created within a specific drug culture. most of the examples i can think of would be musical:

reggae - marajuana merengue - cocaine industrial - speed and heroin techno - excstacy / “pills” psychedelic music like early grateful dead - mushrooms and acid - then the heroine culture took over and junkies sold the psychedelics to the suburban kids hip-hop - marajuana

there’s that really slowed down hip-hop shit from south florida and south texas that’s all about “syrup” - liquid morphene shit these kids were into. the style started ‘cause peoples boom-box batteries were dying and playing the tapes slow.

as with any style or culture - certain pieces or artists will stand out and survive.

marajuana and alcohol have been “shamanistic” tools for years to “open the doors of perception”.

then the process of preparing it for consumption may be assisted by different drugs which will give different stylistic effects. jack keroak drank and wrote all his shit without editing. burroughs did dope and wrote within a crazy dream / fantasy world. van gogh drank absinth and his shit looks like he’s hung over.

these industrial / dance music cats stayed up for days in front of machines putting in one note at a time doing speedy shit.

the reggae and hip-hop stufff is all slow with mother / estrogen energy that comes from the herb.

there’s also the Angel Dust aka PCP music. that shit makes you speak in dark, urban rhymes. listen to Schooly D. Wu-tang clan sounds very dust to me, but their records were made later.

P-Funk (george clinton, bootsty) and those guys were real into smokin cocaine/php together - space bass

often as artists we need to sacrifice health in order to BE WITHIN the culture that we want to create art in.

there’s a movement happening near you now. will you be a part of it?

some people say art happens in a vaccume (between the artist and “god”), but historically i think it often happens within a community.

hey - rest in peace Hunter S. Thompson, king of gonzo.

he lived ON FIRE.

personally…well. who cares?

thanks y’all and please stay in touch.

Love. Mike iLL
 
 

18/02/2005