In the weeks following Lil Peep’s suspected overdose, many rappers have publicly condemned the rampant substance abuse within hip-hop, warning fans and colleagues to stay away from dangerous drugs.
Young Thug, however, went in the opposite direction, and posted an Instagram story in which he was apparently using an IV to inject himself with lean. He captioned it: “Fuck a double cup I wanna feel it faster.”
It’s unclear if Thug was stupid enough to actually inject himself with the drug or if this was just an ill-conceived joke. In a 2016 interview with GQ, it was revealed Thug gets regular vitamin injections from his doctor, so the image could’ve been taken during a recent IV therapy session. No one's sure at this point. Either way, the post is very reckless, as it seems to glorify the dangerous concoction.
Social media had a lot to say about Thug’s post.
Hip-hop figures like ASAP Yams, DJ Screw, and Pimp C have all died as a result of consuming promethazine/codeine (the active ingredients in lean). After being hospitalized for overconsumption of the drug, Famous Dex recently vowed to give it up for good.
“If I'm your role model, then stop fucking doing the lean,” he said on Instagram Live this week. “I just want to let my Live know, all my fans know, I quit codeine. I don’t do the lean no more. That’s on my kids. You’ll never ever see me with a double cup. It fucked me up. I’m in the hospital right now. But I feel so better. I feel so good. God is so good. That’s why y’all haven’t been seeing me do no music. I been fucked up.”
