Video hit Afroman

Afroman - Because I Got High

Afroman (real name: Joseph Foreman) wrote this as a joke for his friends. The song is about his experiences with marijuana and all the things he couldn't do because he was high. He said in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh: "I wanted to take my negativity and generate something positive. I would wake up in the morning ready to take on the world and I was doing it, but then I got high and I messed around and I lost the entire day doing nothing." He added to Rolling Stone, "Some chronic weed inspired it. It took me two minutes and eleven seconds to write."

The first song Afroman released was called "Sell Your Dope" in 1999. You can see a pattern developing.

Afroman released this on an independent label in 2000. It got him signed to Universal Records, who released it the next year. The song gained a great deal of popularity when Howard Stern started playing it on his radio show.

The B-Side of the single is a song called "She Won't Let Me F--K."

This plays over the closing credits of the 2001 movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Recalling getting the call from the film's director Kevin Smith, Afroman said, "I was high and was like, whassup, dude."

This was included on Afroman's second album. His first major-label album in 2001 is a combination of songs from his first 2 independent albums.

In England, this was the most popular ringtone downloaded to British mobile phones in 2002. It beat out "Somethin' Stupid" by Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman and "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue.

In December 2001, a judge ordered a 17-year-old boy to listen to this and write a 3-paragraph summary of the song after he was caught driving with a marijuana pipe. The judge also told him he was an embarrassment to his mother.

On the music-swapping service Napster, this song was huge. When a fan started circulating the song on Napster, it created a lot of buzz and led to Afroman's record deal with Universal. Many artists objected to having their songs swapped on the Internet, but for an unknown singer who couldn't get much exposure, Napster could lead to a big break.

This was a worldwide hit. It has sold over 1 million copies across the globe, and was #1 in Germany, The UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Afroman was not able to follow it up with another hit, despite efforts like A Colt 45 Christmas and Waiting to Inhale. By the late '00s, he was on the college bar circuit, playing about 250 shows a year to frat boys with fond memories of the song.

The lyrics:

I was gonna clean my room until I got high

I gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high

My room is still messed up and I know why

'Cause I got high (repeat 3X)

I was gonna go to class before I got high

I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high

I am taking it next semester and I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

I was gonna go to work but then I got high

I just got a new promotion but I got high

Now I'm selling dope and I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

I was gonna go to court before I got high

I was gonna pay my child support but then I got high

They took my whole paycheck and I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

I wasn't gonna run from the cops but I was high

I was gonna pull right over and stop but I was high

Now I am a paraplegic, because I got high

Because I got high

Because I got high

I was gonna pay my car note until I got high

I was gonna gamble on the boat but then I got high

Now the tow truck is pulling away and I know why

Because I got high

Because I got high

Because I got high

I was gonna make love to you but then I got high

I was gonna eat yo pussy too but then I got high

Now I'm jacking off and I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

I messed up my entire life because I got high

I lost my kids and wife because I got high

Now I'm sleeping on the sidewalk and I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

I'm gonna stop singing this song because I'm high

I'm singing this whole thing wrong because I'm high

And if I don't sell one copy I know why

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high

'Cause I got high