ABOUT AFROMAN

Comedic rapper Afroman first broke through in 2000 with his ubiquitous stoner-lifestyle anthem “Because I Got High,” bringing his songs of wit, weed, and deep-fried funk to the masses. Afroman’s signature song had a remarkable shelf life and was used in various films and television productions over the years. Far from a one-hit wonder, however, Afroman’s discography is deep, spanning from tapes and CDs he self-released in the late ’90s through to highlights like 2008’s Frobama and 2016’s Crazy Rap. Afroman was born Joseph Foreman in East Palmdale, Los Angeles. Citing influences like Too $hort, Big Daddy Kane, and 2 Live Crew, he began his rap career in the eighth grade, when he started making homemade tapes of his own songs and passing them out to his classmates. He got his start as a performer at church, where he played drums and eventually moved on to playing guitar. For a while, he even worked as an airport baggage handler while trying to make an impression with his songs, In 1999, while he was still living in Los Angeles, Afroman released his first album, Sell Your Dope, and played parties, sidewalks, and contests. Not finding L.A. to his liking, he moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he teamed up with drummer Jody Stallone and keyboardist/bassist Daryl Havard. In the spring of 2000, he recorded his breakout LP, Because I Got High, with producer Tim Ramenofsky. He distributed it at shows with the help of T-Bones Records in Hattiesburg. As word spread about his live shows, demand for his music increased. At the time, online file-sharing service Napster had just kicked off the MP3 revolution, which turned out to be a boon for Afroman. A fan managed to acquire a copy of his album in digital form and posted the track “Because I Got High” to Napster. Howard Stern also boosted the popularity of the track by playing it on his radio show. “Because I Got High” went on to become a huge worldwide hit by the end of 2001. It was nominated for a Best Rap Grammy in 2002.