Afroman
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
He was still living in East Palmdale, Los Angeles, when in November 1999 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, MS, where he teamed up with drummer Jody Stallone and keyboardist/bassist Daryl Havard. In the spring of 2000 he concocted his second LP, Because I Got High, with producer Tim Ramenofsky. He distributed it at shows and with the help of T-Bone Records in Hattiesburg. The more people he performed for, the more word of mouth spread, with not just a little help from the Internets controversial music-file swapping service, Napster. Someone who got his hands on his music at a show posted the track Because I Got High to Napster and suddenly everything changed for Afroman. Then Howard Sterns radio show boosted Because I Got Highs popularity by playing the song on his show. The song Because I Got High was based on Afromans inability to clean up his room. The song lists a number of activities -- cleaning his room, going to court, attending class -- that get derailed because of reefer madness.
Afroman eventually also gained the attention of Universal Records, who signed him to a six-album deal. His first Universal album, The Good Times, was a compilation of his first two LPs and a few new ones. Because I Got High was also included on the soundtrack to Kevin Smiths film #Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Because I Got High became a huge hit around the world in the last quarter of 2001. When he returned in 2004, he did so in a big way, with the double-disc Afroholic...the Even Better Times, albeit he did so independently. Free of Universal, he wrote, produced, and recorded Afroholic on his own, marketed it largely via the Internet (/www.afromanmusic.com), and toured with a live band. The holiday album Jobe Bells followed in 2004 and then came DrunknHigh in 2006.
