The Price of the Music: Black Artists, Drug Addiction & The Talent We Keep Losing

From the jazz clubs of the 1940s to the streaming era of today — Black music has produced some of the greatest voices, producers, and performers this world has ever heard. And we have watched too many of them die too young. Billie Holiday. Ray Charles. Jimi Hendrix. Rick James. Whitney Houston. Prince. Mac Miller. Juice WRLD. DMX. The list keeps growing. And the question nobody is asking loud enough is — why?

In this episode of Past Present Pushback, XO, AZ, and CDA go deep into the history of Black musicians and drug addiction. We talk about where it started, what the industry knew and chose to ignore, why drug use got glamorized in our music, what these artists were running from, who made it out and how, and what we are still losing right now in this generation. This is not a lecture. This is a real conversation between three men who love Black music and are tired of watching it bury its own.

Topics covered: Black music and drug addiction history | Music industry exploitation and enablement | Jazz era heroin epidemic | Hip hop and the glorification of drug culture | Fentanyl and the new generation of artists | Whitney Houston, Prince, DMX recovery and loss | What the industry owes artists | How to recognize addiction in someone you love | Resources for help

Keywords: Black musicians drug addiction, Whitney Houston addiction, Prince fentanyl death, Mac Miller overdose, Juice WRLD death, DMX addiction recovery, hip hop drug culture, music industry exploitation, Black artists mental health, jazz heroin epidemic, drug addiction Black community, Past Present Pushback podcast

• SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7)

• Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741

• MusiCares (for music industry workers) — grammy.com/musicares | 1-800-687-4227

• Black Line (mental health crisis line for Black community) — 1-800-604-5841

• Therapy for Black Men — therapyforblackmen.org

• Narcotics Anonymous — na.org