My Musical Stories: Chance The Rapper's "Same Drugs"

I first discovered the music of Chance The Rapper back in August of 2016 during one of my first shows for KAXE/KBXE.  I saw that he did a track with rapper Kanye West and also The Chicago Children's Choir, and instantly had to take a look and see what all the hype was.  Well, after playing the track All We Got, the lead-off track from his 2016 digital release Coloring Book, I decided it was time to check out another track from the album, as this one was wearing thin.

It was February of 2017, so I was still pretty new to the whole radio thing, and didn't want to risk letting an expletive out over the airwaves during the morning hours, as I was on from 9am to Noon on this day.  So I looked through the album, and saw that I really only had a few choices.  There was D.R.A.M Sings Special, but that was only about two minutes long and I wasn't sure if I could take the risk of finding a new song and getting it ready in time.  There was also Blessings, and last but not least, there was Same Drugs.  Every other track on the album's back cover was marked with the three x's that signals the song not being fit for radio unless you're reading the lyrics and sliding the fader down over the expletives.  I decided that Blessings was best fit for another show, and cued up Same Drugs for my listeners to hear.

I was pumped that morning, sharing music from Chance The Rapper just a few weeks after he took home some awards from the 2017 Grammys, alongside other artists such as Sturgill Simpson and Adele.  It was a great year for artists in the alternative radio spectrum, and I was happy to be able to share a track from Coloring Book so close to the Grammy win. 

I'll admit I wasn't sure what to think of the song at first.  After a few listens, when I had the time to understand the lyrics since I wasn't preparing the next song or getting ready for the next break, I came to the self-understanding that the song was about a guy lamenting about an old friend that chose a very unfortunate and hard path such as a drug or alcohol addiction, and that they weren't really friends anymore.  That was how the lyrics made sense to me.  But sometime after, someone told me that wasn't quite what they meant, so I went to look up the meaning behind the song, and this is what I found.

"It turns out, in fact, that the song is actually about love — or love lost, that is — and "drugs" is simply just a metaphor that symbolizes the many major changes that have taken place in a relationship during the rapper's past." - Nina Bradley, Bustle.com 

So the song that some of us might think is about drugs on the first few listens, is actually about anyone from an ex-girlfriend to a foolish crush that wasn't reciprocated.  I was honestly stunned, as me and my sometimes sleeping brain couldn't figure that out without looking it up.

Love is an emotion that I've seen in many different ways.  I've seen it's fun side, a playful young couple getting ready for their first few dates and then marrying and all is well, or the elderly grandparents being the "couple goals" of someone who has made the unfortunate mistake of using the word "goals" in their daily social media vocabulary.  I've also seen tough love from parent to child, and lastly, I've seen love used in the worst way possible, for someone's own personal gain.  Marrying someone for money is one of the cruelest things you can do to your other half, assuming that's what you see them as.  Love can have you walking on a cloud one day, and burrowing down into your hole the next.  It can make you smile, cry, and scream all in a 24 hour period.  It can make you feel wanted but can also make you feel unwanted.  It's a very powerful, and sometimes dangerous emotion. 

I've been lucky with family love.  All of them have always supported me all the way through my numerous adventures and hobbies, and I'll forever be grateful for that.  Their humorous banter, the memories shared, the car trips to who knows where.  It's all so wonderful and amazing.  Sitting in Fargo I really miss some of these times and the memories made, especially when all you have to go by is a picture.

Romantic relationships are a bit of a different story.  My heart's been stomped on too many times to count and it does hurt sometimes when that happens.  Some are still in my life, others are not.  It truly depended on the situation.  Whatever happened is unknown, and it's in the past.  I try not to dwell much on it, especially with anxiety problems worsening as time goes on here.  There are two distinct people I was talking to for the longest time that I connected this song to as time went on, and while I feel it's incredibly unhealthy to do that, I also feel it can maybe help the healing process just a little bit.

Sorry for the tangent there.  Let's wrap this up.  So Same Drugs is actually about a bad breakup.  A really bad one... Everything about this song is sad on so many levels, but it's a very beautiful listen.  The song is very well done musically, and the lyrics are beautifully wrote.  It's not going to be the happiest pick me up song you listen to today, but it might bring you just a little bit of peace in a time of need if you're going through a bad breakup.  Sometimes music is the best medicine, and this song could easily be on your prescription. 

Below is the original video for Same Drugs by Chance The Rapper, and then below that are versions by several different artists who have covered the song in the last two years since it's release that I've discovered and enjoyed.  If you really like one of them, feel free to drop a comment letting me know which one you liked best.  Also, feel free to tell me how you've connected with the song if you have. 

Chance The Rapper's Original Song

Reverb Acapella Cover Version

Free Throw Cover

Pat McKillen Cover