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Pot-themed hip-hop crept above counterculture status in the 1990s, when Cypress Hill clamored for legalized weed and Dr. Dre teamed with Snoop Dogg to introduce “The Chronic” to millions of listeners.
A new generation of marijuana-minded MCs is led by Wiz Khalifa, who sold 197,000 copies of his “Rolling Papers” album during the first week of April.
Indianapolis-based producer J. Brookinz, left, who’s billed himself as “the highest man alive,” says the public is primed for more cannabis-centric content.
“Now’s the time to go out there and say what’s really going on,” he said.
On April 20, Brookinz will celebrate the release of his “Gateway 2” album with a performance at Broad Ripple nightclub Rock Lobster. The album is a sequel to “The Gateway Drug: THC,” which Brookinz unleashed last year to coincide with 4/20 celebrations.
Possession of marijuana is outlawed in Indiana, but Brookinz says he’s striving to make the drug “more acceptable.”
“I know there’s people who can’t say they smoke on Facebook,” he said. “They might get in trouble at work, and that would mess up their money. I understand that. But that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the music that we do.”
Brookinz and his Heavy Gun blog partner, Grey Granite, assembled “Gateway 2” with a fleet of notable Naptown rappers. Granite, Kid Algebra and Nathan Karamanski are featured on the album’s first single, “Stuck.”
The first “Gateway” project was performed in a theatrical context last June at Locals Only, where Brookinz portrayed an evening spent on his couch — accompanied by a laptop, stage-prop joints and a parade of visiting MCs.
Brookinz wants the April 20 show, sponsored by smoke shop Twenty Past 4 and More and political action committee Re-Legalize Indiana (marijuana was legal in Indiana before 1913, Brookinz notes), to top the 2010 edition.
But time isn’t on his side. The “Gateway 2” players resorted to a 48-hour “lock-in” last weekend to finish the album. Any planning for the live show came after that marathon session.
“Pressure makes diamonds,” Brookinz said. “When I have a crazy deadline, it forces me to create.”
Brookinz sampled 1970s funk and soul recordings made in the Midwest for the first “Gateway” album. He built the beats of “Gateway 2” by deconstructing psychedelic rock of the late ’60s and early ’70s.
Brookinz said he sets thematic guidelines to entertain himself and his peers, and he adds that modern producers don’t necessarily dig through crates of vinyl LPs to find perfect source material.
“Anything goes,” Brookinz said. “I can sample from anything. I’ve sampled from YouTube videos. The end result is what I’m looking for. How you get there, I do not care.”
Going?
The “Gateway 2” record-release party is scheduled for 9 p.m. April 20 at Rock Lobster, 820 Broad Ripple Ave. Admission is $3. For more information, visit www.rocklobster.ws or call (317) 253-5844.
