LSD

Album: At.Long.Last.A$AP (2015)
Charted: 62
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Songfacts®:

  • Asked about the "Baby I'm just rappin' to this LSD" lyric by Billboard magazine, A$AP Rocky replied: "It helps me cope with life. I've been doing this stuff since I got into the industry. People are scared to talk about it."
  • The psychedelic video was filmed in a neon-drenched Tokyo and directed by Dexter Navy, who also shot Only Real's "Yesterdays" clip. The visual features a high Rocky on a hallucinogenic journey out on the town.
  • LSD is the shorter name for a drug called Lysergic acid diethylamide, which causes people who take it to witness illusions. It is often referred to by the slang name acid. The drug was discovered by chance in 1943 when Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist, accidentally consumed it during medicinal research. He notoriously experienced its disorientating effect when riding his bicycle through the streets of Basle.

    During the Cold War, the American military and the CIA experimented with the drug (sometimes on uninformed subjects) to see whether it would be an aid in interrogation. It wasn't.

    LSD became the favoured psychedelic drug among the young in the 1960s, prompted by Harvard psychology professor, Timothy Leary, whose slogan about LSD: "Turn on, tune in, drop out"" was adopted by the hippie movement. A number of famous rock bands, including the Beatles became known for their use of LSD, and a new genre, "acid rock," was born from the fad.

    Some casual users began to experience side effects, such as "flashbacks" and psychotic symptoms and signs of depression and instability were seen. Due to the spread of LSD, the United States government banned the drug in 1967. Other countries soon followed.
  • According to A$AP Rocky 'LSD' stands for 'Love, sex, dreams."
  • The song contains a sample of "Ode To Billie Joe" as performed by jazz alto saxophonist Lou Donaldson.

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