Afroman: Higher and Higher
by Jess Hopsicker
I was gunna write an intro to this interview but then I got high...
The excuse has worked for Afroman, because of his popular summer song and stoner anthem of 2001 "Because I Got High." The debut full length CD, The Good Times, went gold on the strength of that tune. Jay and Silent Bob even moonlighted in the video. The lyrics decry the pitfalls of pot smoking with lines such as "I was gunna pay my child support but then I got high" This kind of success nearly saddled him with the terrible title of one hit wonder. Six years later however, he's still plugging away.
His newest album, Waiting to Inhale, reams everyone from Beyoncé Knowles to the Black Eyes Peas. "Dicc Hang Low" proves to be a low blow spoofing the ever-so popular "Chain Hang Low" by Jibbs. Though the disk may not have hit the shelves yet, tracks of this hit-and run masterpiece are going positively viral on the internet.
Jess Hopsicker: How's the new CD coming together?
Afroman: It's underground right now, it hasn't been released yet, still working on a distributor. The tracks that have been released are making people laugh, and that's the whole purpose of it. Tracks are available at afromanmedia.com.
JH: A lot of people are anxious to get the whole thing.
A: A lot of my problems come from getting people to get it on the shelf.
JH: It's extremely rude and funny, especially Dicc Hang Low, and the one where you're ripping on Beyonce. Do people ever get offended by that stuff?
A: I'm sure, but I don't see them. I see people who come out to the shows. They take it with a grain of salt if it is funny, if it isn’t they wait for something that is. For the most part, I see people getting it.
JH: It is a lot more melodic than the stuff you're dissing. How do you feel about hip hop as a medium now?
A: I'm not ripping on the music really, I'm having fun. Dicc Hang Low is R & B, which is perfect for what I'm going after with that one. You go out to a bar, you try to dance with a chick, and this song comes on, and this girl becomes the stimulating partner you're looking for- she turns into that chick. It just isn't conducive, good, for unity. So I thought I'd pick up a mirror and aim it at that. That was fun. I'm Afroman, so I can get away with that. If I was Brian Mcknight I couldn't do that. I've got to enjoy being Afroman. Nobody can tell Beyonce off, but I can take sip of Colt 45 and tell her off.
JH: You pointed out in Because I Got High that everybody sings about smoking marijuana, nobody sings about the effects of marijuana?
A: Marijuana is ok if you have nothing to do with your life. If you're out in the country underneath the apple tree, waiting for one to fall, great man. If you’re an on-the-go type person, it can be an obstacle.
JH: You've said that you wanted to be the best alcoholic woman-chasing Christian?
A: Yes.
JH: Is it hard to be different in this line of work?
A: No, you just be yourself. If you try to play some role, people will sniff out that you're trying to be this guy or that guy.
JH: Your Myspace was deleted because they thought that you weren't the real Afroman?
A: A lot of people are putting Afroman all over everything.
JH: How's your tour so far.
A: Everybody's coming out, having a great time. I'm doing stuff they know, and bringing out new material they don't know. I'm writing new stuff all the time. I stay in the game.
JH: Does it ever seem like work to you?
A: It does. I picked rap so I wouldn't have to work that hard, but I don't care what you do for a living, it is going to be hard. Even if you sell drugs, you have to watch out for the FBI. There's no escaping hard work. We're all cursed to work. If you don't work, you have to work hard to figure out a way not to work. If I have to work, I'd rather work this way.
JH: You're hitting Syracuse and Ithaca?
A: Yeah! I'm Afroman, I go wherever I'm accepted.
JH: It looks like a lot of people are accepting you.
A: I've got a following. It's not like a Bon Jovi concert, but not bad at all. I stay busy every day, so I'm thankful for that.
