Opioid-based drugs like lean (a potentially dangerous concoction created by combining codeine cough syrup with Sprite and hard candy) and Percocet, as well as benzodiazepines like Xanax, are more likely to be referenced on a hit song than weed or alcohol (Future’s gargantuan 2016 hit “ Mask Off” was literally built around a chorus where the word Percocet is repeated over and over). Their impact is particularly evident in the world of rap. Fast-forward to the 2010s, and it’s opioids that now have a grip over some of music’s biggest stars. In the 1960s and 1970s, LSD and heroin helped musicians break on through to the other side, while cocaine gave 1980s pop music its turbo charge. Explore the decade on our interactive timeline here, or head here to check out all our features.Įvery decade has a drug that infiltrates music. As a chaotic decade comes to a close, we're speaking to the people who helped shape the last ten years and analysing the cultural shifts that have defined them. Deep fakes, influencers, viral fashion – we live in a world unrecognisable from the one we stood in ten years ago.
