Musicians should have the moral obligation not to celebrate the irresponsible act, a subject that promotes dangerous behavior with no redemptive qualities.
Censorship in music might be one of the most pointless campaigns ever devised. Whether it’s BBC Radio or the infamous 1980s parent organization, the Parents Music Resource Center, banning musicians from expressing their creativity is nearly an attack on free speech itself. As Mark Twain once mused: “Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.”
Yet, despite my acceptance of music containing sexual, violent or otherwise questionable lyrical content (some of my favorite albums include these), there is one subject I find is inappropriate and in poor taste to accept: Drunk driving. And, in addition to its apparent negatives, the topic is touched upon in multiple genres of music, rendering it even more objectionable.
From my research, it seems that positive lyrics toward drunk driving are most prevalent in hip-hop music, which has already pushed the envelope many times in the past. Some famous examples include Kanye West’s line in his 2010 commercial hit “Power,” where he raps in the third verse: “I was drinking earlier/ now I’m driving,” and Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” released the same year, in which he sings “Driving drunk/ I’m doing my thing.” These songs have more than 59 and 98 million YouTube views respectively.
Earlier examples include Ice Cube’s 1993 track “It Was A Good Day,” where the former-NWA affiliate raps “Drunk as hell but no throwing up/ halfway home and my pager still blowing up.” In the music video, he is driving his car during these lines. Wiz Khalifa also makes a passing mention of the subject in his song “On My Level,” rapping “Gin got me drunk as f--k stumbling out the bar/ plus I’m struggling trying to find the keys to my car.”
However, as mentioned above, drunk driving is not merely exclusive to hip-hop. The earliest case of glorified drunk driving I found comes from Billy Joel’s 1980 song “You May Be Right,” which contains the line “And you told me not to drive/ but I made it home alive.” On the country music side of things, Jason Aldean references an “ice cold beer sittin’ in the console” of his automobile in 2011’s “Dirt Road Anthem.” How exactly do you plan on getting home, Jason?
It would be delusional to believe someone would drive drunk just because he or she heard it in a song.
However, these songs make light of the dangerous practice that might in turn contribute to their listeners behaving more recklessly. As cheesy as anti-drunk driving ads might seem on TV or on highway signs, a total of 10,076 Americans died from alcohol-related crashes in 2013, according to cdc.gov. And those crashes made up nearly one-third of all traffic-related deaths that year.
It’s hard to make death cheesy.
And, as much as I am against censorship, there is no need to glorify a practice that leads to the loss of innocent motorists and has no positive outcomes. Not even drunk drivers want to be driving drunk.
Musicians can still talk about partying without coercing irresponsible decisions. Maybe just call an Uber next time.
Luke Furman is a sophomore studying journalism and a reporter at The Post. What do you think about musical acts lauding drunk driving in their lyrics? Email him at lf491413@ohio.edu or tweet him @LukeFurmanOU.
