This week, Jon Caramanica and host Ben Ratliff talk about Lil Wayneâs âI Am Not A Human Being II,â the third in his theoretically drug-free era â" he has consented to regular, court-ordered drug tests since 2010 â" and talk about Wayne (again, theoretically) pre- and post-sobriety.
How have drugs showed up in hip-hop and other music as a sonic shaper What place do stimulants, depressants, narcotics and hallucinogens have in our understanding of pop sounds â" tempos, textures, legibility What can we infer about how sobriety may have marked the music of Wayne, Eminem, or even John Coltrane
Or is talking about drugs a distraction from the real issues in a musicianâs life: youth and aging, creative flow and ambition, working habits, means of production
Listen above, download the MP3 here, or subscribe in iTunes.
RELATED
Jon Caramanica on Lil Wayneâs âI Am Not a Human Being II.â
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Tracks by artists discussed this week. (Spotify users can also find it here.)