By Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Trinidad James made "Popped a Molly, I'm sweating" into one of hip-hop's biggest phrases over the past year. In light of a harsh critique by DJ A-Trak on hip-hop's love affair of drugs published in the Huffington Post, the "All Gold Everything" rapper is coming out and defending his right to do drugs.
In a recent interview with XXL, Trinidad was asked about his role in promoting drug use. He stated that "doing drugs is not right" but didn't take responsibility for what other people do.
"Honestly man, life is based on moderation. Anything that you do, you have to do it in moderation," he explained. "People overdo it and it turns into people OD’ing or dying, but it’s all about how extreme you go with it. Some artists have made some of their most incredible music on drugs, so for me to say that drugs are messing up hip-hop, I’m not going to say that. It’s just that some people really believe so much of what we say, and people honestly don’t understand moderation."
Trinidad also revealed his own drug use and relationship with marijuana. "Yeah, I mean, I could stop smoking weed right now if I had to, but there’s no reason for me to stop. I do it because it’s good for me." He said that rappers aren't responsible for other people's personal choices and blasted those who do overdose, dubbing them as "weak-minded." "But at the end of the day, it’s all about moderation and you being your goddamn self. Don’t blame no rapper."
Last year, RapFix explored hip-hop's fascination with Molly or MDMA. "It brought Molly to the forefront. I think you helped elevate Molly," Sway told Trinidad about the impact of his "All Gold Everything." Trinidad joked that people often "blame it on Trinidad" when they want to experiment with the drug.
Kendrick Lamar recently featured the message "Death to Molly" in a faux funeral service scene in his "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe" music video, leading many to believe that K Dot was speaking out against the drug.
"Sometimes you have the trends that's not that cool," Kendrick explained to MTV News after he came off stage at the recent Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama. "You may have certain artists portraying these trends and don't really have that lifestyle and then it gives off the wrong thing. And it becomes kinda corny after a while," he stated, without pointing the finger at any artist in particular.