Gabriella Ferlita
Let’s face it, Afroman’s ‘Because I Got High’ is undoubtedly the anthem to every uni student looking for a reason to not get started on their dissertation.
Released in 2000, the song was certified platinum in nine countries and twice platinum in Australia - which isn’t exactly hard to believe when it comes to the Aussie’s sometimes undying love of ganja - and even led to a record deal for the then-26-year-old with Universal Music Group.
In case you needed a reminder of the American rapper and singer’s iconic track, you can see him perform it live here:
But after conquering the world one blunt at a time with the track, which rose to number one in 11 countries around the world, and reached its peak around the summer of 2001.
But the year-long high abruptly ended for the star, born Joseph Edgar Foreman, after 11 September 2001, when one of the world’s deadliest terror attacks was tragically carried out in the US.
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After almost 3,000 people lost their lives in the shocking attacks in New York City, Virginia and Pennsylvania, radio plays of Afroman’s once hugely popular track came to a grinding halt.
“It was almost an insult to be that silly at a time of such despair,” he said to VICE in a recent ‘The Story of’ episode.
He added: “I don’t do good when I do serious, you know what I’m saying? It shut me down.”
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Joseph revealed that he attempted to send further singles to radio shows, to which they repeatedly declined.
“They said, ‘send us a song’, I sent it to them,” he revealed. “They said, ‘send us another one'. It looked like they weren’t gonna do nothing with me."
Tim Ramenofsky, the founder of T-Bone records and the brilliant mind who discovered Afroman and produced the single, told the outlet that Universal almost tried to prevent the rapper from smoking so much weed. Heaven forbid.
“The music business came to a crashing halt after 9/11, and I think Universal was just trimming the fat.
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“Universal had kind of had it with us, at one point they brought Joseph and I into a meeting and told us to ‘please stop smoking weed’. That was b******t. The ‘Because I Got High’ guy should smoke weed when he wants to smoke weed.
“Nobody minds seeing the ‘Because I Got High’ guy, high.”
Afroman’s subsequent attempts at new music were seemingly shot down by Universal, and in the end, Joseph decided to terminate his deal with the record label.
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Joseph said: “I said, ‘release me’, and they released me and I was allowed to set up a label and begin making music again.”
Now, Afroman is the proud owner of Hungry Hustler Records, who represents himself as well as Missouri-born rock band purplehearts and art-come-artist Kid Lennon, who sampled Afroman’s infamous track and collaborated with him in Lennon’s 2021 release ‘Cuz I’m High’.
Well, if you can’t beat them, join them.
Elsewhere, the now 48-year-old still mingles with university students from time to time, singing the anthem to end all anthems. And long may it reign.