Acceptance of Drug Use in Music and the "Yoko Effect"

After news broke of Mac Miller’s overdose last Friday, internet trolls and fans of the late rapper started tagging tweets #ArianaKilledMac. Some say that singer Ariana Grande is to blame for triggering Miller’s relapse after they broke up and she got engaged two weeks later.

TheRolling Stone picked up the story, recalling the “Yoko Effect,” in which the public demonizes women in toxic relationships. The blame being put on Grande closely resembles the scrutiny against Courtney Love after Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

Instead of demonizing Grande, Miller’s death should awaken a discussion of addiction and the glorification of drugs in hip hop. In hip hop, drugs are often synonymous with partying, money, and sex. This image of invincible artists is dangerous and  prevents any real discussion of addiction.

Sadly, before we can discuss the stigmatization of addiction in hip hop, we must still be stuck on a tired conversation about why women are not responsible for a man’s wrongdoings or emotional states. After being blamed for Miller’s DUI in May after their break up she explained, “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be.”