Released: September 12, 2000

Songwriter: Afroman

Producer: Afroman

Just like bums, we used to stay in the slums of LA by the way
Gang-bangers killin' each other for rep, sellin' rock cocaine on my doorstep
Had a ball to bounce plus a bike to ride, but my mama never would let me play outside
But when I got enrolled in elementary school, started bangin' like a fuckin' fool
So cool, throwin' up gang signs to the gangster beat, shot an enemy from across the street
Mama came home, said she got a good job. Daddy did too. Now they don't squab
Financially, we improvin'. 2 months later, son, we movin'
No more duckin' from shotgun shells. Bought a two-story house in East Palmdale
(give it to me now.)

Palmdale, come back to me
I need you and I love you, baby
Palmdale, come back to me
(Check it out, check it out, check it out.)

No more rats and no more roaches, livin' next door to football coaches
Now I got a new place to sell me crack. Now I got little white kids to jack
I stopped wearin' blue, wasn't trippin' on red. Too busy squabbin' with the skinheads
Stupid questions, distract the class. Rubbin' little white girls on the ass
I didn't really care if I passed or failed, I knew I was headed for the NFL
Until the playoff game, shoulder got hurt. I thought about my future, layin' in the dirt
I can't jump, I can't flinch. Superstar player, ridin' the bench
Graduate from school? Don't make me laugh. I got an F+ in basic math
(give it to me now.)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me
I gotta do one song for my neighborhood. Bucccoooc!
Palmdale, come back to me
(check it out.)

I knew I couldn't make it in the white man's world, so I bought me some khakis and a Geri curl
I knew I couldn't make it to the NFL, so I went to East Palmdale and started slingin' yayo
For sure! I was makin' crazy dough. Should've dropped outta school a long time ago
Bought a cell phone, like a nut. Now I deliver like Pizza Hut
I drunk whisky and Bacardi. I sold dope to anybody
Me and my homies sold dubs and dimes, took turns bustin' rhymes just to pass the time
A white man drove up to my spot. He said, Hey, homeboy, what you got?
I put a fat rock inside his hand. About 25 sheriffs jumped out the van
(Get down, punk.)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah) come back to me
I need you and I love you, baby
Palmdale, come back to me
(check it out, check it out, check it out.)

Can't get drunk. Can't get blunted. LA County, 95 hundred
Crips wanna take my All-stars. Bloods wanna eat my Snicker bars
Them peckerwoods don't want none, but the Mexican's straight own one
Them Ese's, catorces, treces always try to test me
So I jumped off the bed, cause I ain't no punk. Jammed his head up against the bunk
Socked that Cholo in his chin. Black mother-fuckers scared to jump in
Sheriff broke it up when we hit the floor. I kept talkin' shit cause I want some more
Back in town, we get along with the brown. Now I'm in jail, they tryin' to beat me down
Jail is hell, but I'll adapt. Won't hesitate to get in a scrap
Cause I'm down for mine, and that's for certain, sittin' in the hole with my knuckles hurtin'
(Palmdale)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me
I need you and I love you, baby
Palmdale, come back to me
(check it out, homeboy.)

Now I got a fucked up life. Two bad kids and a naggin' wife
Dead end job at the airport. Check too short to pay the house note
Turn on the TV, then I see different homeboys that went to school with me
Playin' in the NFL. We used to kick back in East Palmdale
Rodney Williams. Lorenz Tate. Zeno plays for Colorado State
I wish my homeboys much success, but at the same time, I still get depressed
Walkin' through the wind with a cup full of gin thinkin' 'bout things that could've, would've, should've been
I wipe my tears, sip my beers, wish good luck to my peers
(Palmdale.)

Palmdale, come back to me
I need you and I love you, baby
Palmdale, come back to me
Cause that's where my heartache began, heartache began

Palmdale, come back to me
I need you and I love you, baby
Palmdale, come back to me
Cause that's where my heartache began, heartache began

Palmdale, come back to me
(Hey, all the homeboys on the football team, where y'all at?)
Palmdale, come back to me
(Hey, wherever you at in the world, I don't care if you in Japan, Africa
Hey, you know how we used to do it, man. Hey, hey, hey.)
Yo, let me get a Palm (Palm!)
Yo, let me get a Dale (Dale!)
Yo, what do we sell? (YELL!)
Yo, where we fittin' to go? (We fittin' to go back to jail!)
[X4]

Dale. Palmdale. (Hey, everybody just clap your hands.)
Dale. Palmdale. (C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. Buci-buci-bucccoooc!)
Dale. Palmdale
Dale. (Where them Falcons at?) Palmdale. (It ain't over 'til the fat man sings.)
Dale. (Little Rock can't get none. What, what?) Palmdale
Dale. Palmdale
[Fade out.]

Afroman

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.