The first two relate specifically to the form he filled out to purchase a gun in 2018, accusing Biden of lying about this drug use on the form. FBI Special Agent Erika Jensen acknowledged during questions from defense lawyer Abbe Lowell that the bulk of Hunter Biden’s text messages referring to drug use occurred well before he bought the gun at issue in his federal trial, but two messages stood out. As Gucci said, “that shit ain’t no joke.” He claims to barely remember all the things he’s done, and he’s going into rehab while under incarceration. But he’s not the first rapper to fall victim to addiction, and thankfully, he’s still alive. Coolio, whose legal name was Artis Leon Ivey Jr., gained popularity with “Gangsta’s Paradise” in 1995. It spent three weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100, was named the chart’s No. 1 song of the year and won the Grammy for best rap solo performance in 1996.
Rappers have become increasingly more outspoken, revealing their struggles with their addictions to drugs and alcohol. The drugs were thought to be a mixture for“purple drank,” a combination of codeine and promethazine, a commondrug reference in southern hip-hop culture. Although Wayne popularized lean in the late 2000s, Houston group the Botany Boys were some of the first MCs to mention lean on wax. Their 1995 record, Smokin’ N’ Leanin’, is littered with references to syrup, some 20 years before Atlanta’s Future released Dirty Sprite 2—an ode to the drug he denies being addicted to. These five rappers have taken positive steps to be a part of the rap and hip hop world without substance use.
“Saturday Night Live” alumnus Pete Davidson revealed during a comedy set in Atlantic City that he had taken ketamine daily for four years before he checked himself into rehab. So how do hip-hop artists, and those who love them, deal with this collective problem? It’s a loaded question, but perhaps it starts with more rappers speaking out about their experience kicking their habits, rappers addicted to drugs much like Bay Area rapper Mozzy did when he launched the KickDaCup Challenge on Instagram. If everyone can do their part to de-normalize the use of opiates and speak openly about healing the mental health issues at the root of codependency, we can avoid having to bury another legend. Macklemore, who struggled with opioid addiction, entered a rehab facility at age 25.
Commentary: Rapper Macklemore Takes on Prevention.
Posted: Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:11:49 GMT [source]
Judge Maryellen Noreika gave Lowell a short leash on questioning the authenticity of the laptop during pretrial hearings, saying she would not allow her courtroom to become a home for Russian conspiracy theories. First lady Jill Biden went to court for the third consecutive day to support Hunter, ahead of her trip to France to meet President Joe Biden, who was in Europe to mark the anniversary of D-Day. “Did you take that from me?” a text from Hunter to Hallie Biden, who later will be a witness, read in reference to the gun that was later found in a dumpster. Biden had at some points in text messages supposedly called himself “a liar and a thief,” as well as a drug user.
On Monday, the president’s son goes on trial at a federal courthouse in Wilmington, Delaware, over charges he lied on that paperwork. The case will hinge in part on whether Biden was legally addicted when he bought the gun – and which definition of the term might prevail with the judge and jury. As evidence of his drug use at the time of purchase, prosecutors showed jurors dozens of pages of Hunter Biden’s memoir, “Beautiful Things,” written in 2021 after he got sober. They also heard lengthy audio excerpts from the book, which traces his descent into addiction following the death of his brother, Beau Biden, in 2015 from cancer and covers the period he bought the gun, though it doesn’t mention the weapon specifically. Eminem actually helped another famous rapper, T.I., beat his own addiction. The King of the South got hooked on oxycontin and hydrocodone after a series of major dental surgeries.