Afroman

Released: April 20, 2004

Songwriter: Afroman

Producer: Afroman

(Roll the windows down, you know why?
I'll tell you why)
So the wind can hit my face while i pump the bass, oww
Swervin' lane to lane, like i'm going insane, may-ayne
(I'm just playin', don't drive like that)
Afroman in your stereo, crumblin' the walls of Jericho
Catch me limpin' down the street, to the tempo of the beat
Let your head bu-bop at the bu-bus stop, ay, put up your hands if you love hip hop
(BUCOOC!)
Joseph Foreman made this beat, funky like the bathroom in the Slauson' swap meet
You know how the traffic goes; it don't
The radio could play my song; but they won't
Jam my jam in the traffic jam, wom, bom, let your system slam
Three eighteens vibrate your body, make you jump around like you're throwin' karate
Dancin', dancin', can't stop moving, exhausted - still groovin'
Ì
You know how the traffic goes (traffic goes, oh)
It don't (It ain't going nowhere, hurry up and wait.)
The DJ can play my song (play my song)
But he won't
That's why i hit the swap meet, bought some major beat (oww)
MAJOR BEAT
So i can be patient when i'm in the street (oww)
MAJOR BEAT, MAJOR BEAT
I'm never rude, when i get my food
I've got a good attitude, take time dude
Bump my beat, bust my rhyme
Jammin' a drive through the Hoe town
Walk to school, walk back home
I never walk without my Walkman on
I remember when i got my GRJ
I bought an old car with a new tape deck
Well get the in-crowd (?), cargo cluttin' (?)
Chillin' in my car with my woofers subbin'
Can't end my night, can't start my day unless I've got myself some tight rap music to play
Turn it up (turn it up), start humpin' (humpin')
Everything i play beat-bumpin'
Chicken on the grill getting roasted
I ain't going nowhere, i'm posted
You know how the traffic goes (traffic goes, oh)
It don't. (It ain't going nowhere, hurry up and wait.)
The DJ can play my song (can play my song)
But he won't. (What's wrong with him?)
So i hit the swap meet, bought some major beat (oww)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, BUCOOC!)
So i can be patient while i'm in the street (get on down, oww)
I used to be broke as can be
Hubcaps missin' on my LTD
Chillin' with the winos tryna' keep warm
Fillin' out my CA-7 form (Got a pen?)
I stand in line for three hours tops
Gettin' yelled out by the food stamp cops
County wheel (?), county mail, county hospital, county jail
Cluckhead gangbangers and rude tramps
General relief and food stamps
My girlfriend Kim was down with me
Even though i was broke, she let me live in her place
She got a son, now we havin' a daughter
My lightning ain't paid, i'm in hot water (?)
Took a little trip (trip)
Down in Mississippi
Got with God
Clucked the grip
Jesus Christ, save my life
Re-united me with my kids and wife
When Christmas come around, they call on me
For the Powerpuff Girls and the Dragonball Z
The new Xbox and the Yugioh cards
All praises go to God
I beg me patience, in my soul
I don't trip on things i can't control
You know how the traffic goes (traffic goes)
It don't. (Go nowhere. It don't go nowhere.)
The radio could play my song
But they won't. (Ah no)
You know how the traffic goes (traffic goes)
It don't
The DJ could play my song
But he won't
Going to the swap meet, get some major beat
MAJOR BEAT, MAJOR BEAT
So i can be patient when i'm in the streets......

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 2)

From the album

Afroholic: The Even Better Times (CD 2) (2004)

Afroman popular songs

Major BeatAfroman

Afroman

Afroholic: The Even Better Times (CD 2)