Afroman

Released: April 20, 2004

Songwriter: Afroman

Producer: Afroman

[Verse 1]
A little ditty, about the Afroman
A Mississippi rapper, doin the best he can
Afro gon be a hip-hop star
Freestylin in the back of that police car

[Hook]
Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the Sheriff Department is gone
Oh yeah, I said life goes on
Long after the Sheriff Department is gone

[Verse 2]
Afro got some weed, and hit the bong
He hit the jackpot, when he wrote a hit song
+Because I got High+
Signed with Universal, cuz he was havin fun
But they took his money, like Enron

[Hook]
And oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of riches is gone
Oh yeah, I said life goes on
Long after the thrill of riches is gone

[Verse 3]
Broke and alone, in a cheap motel
Afro spots a bible and he says "what the hell"
Mama said it's better to give, than it is to receive
Afro went to church and said "I believe"
Universal loved Afro when he was on top
But when he became a Christian, that's when he got dropped
But Jesus would comfort Afro when he prayed
Jesus said "Don't worry bout that money
People download your music off the internet anyway"
Jesus said

[Hook]
And oh yeah, life goes on
Long after corrupt record companies go bankrupt
Oh yeah, I said life goes on
Long after corrupt record companies go bankrupt

[Verse 4]
So let em steal, let em do all this wrong
Let em make evil videos, and encourage evil songs
Keep rippin off artists for as long as you can
People go to the internet and make you a broke man (Laughing)

Joseph ‘Afroman’ Foreman began writing songs and handing them out to his friends on cassette while in the eighth grade. At 25 years old, he released his first album, 1999’s Sell Your Dope. Soon after, he moved from LA to Mississippi with the mission to ‘get away from competition and sell to actual people’, releasing his sophomore album Because I Got High in 2000 on T-Bones Records. Its title track, written hastily after a friend showed up and interrupted him on an ambitious day and insisted they instead get high, was the last song he had recorded for the album. Soon after, Afroman left the music business.

At the same time, the file-sharing software Napster – heavily used at the time to share and distribute music for free – was at its peak of popularity, and the album’s title track became popular with its users. Universal Records caught wind and signed Afroman to a six album deal and released it as a single on July 6, 2001.

“Because I Got High” immediately became one of the most-requested songs across the nation, growing even larger after syndicated morning radio show host Howard Stern began airing it regularly, helping to make it ‘the most requested song on the radio in the country’. Further boosting its popularity was its inclusion in the film (and soundtrack to) Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back and MTV’s eventual agreement to air a modified, less-controversial music video for the song. It peaked at #13 in the US, and topped the charts in ten countries overseas. Its album The Good Times reached #10 in the US.

more tracks from the album

Afroholic: The Even Better Times (CD 1)

From the album

Afroholic: The Even Better Times (CD 1) (2004)

Afroman popular songs

Jackin’ AfromanAfroman

Afroman

Afroholic: The Even Better Times (CD 1)