Afroman Is Back—and He’s Bitcoin’s Latest Freedom Fighter
Key takeaways
- Foreman is wearing the same American Flag ensemble that he donned during his recent appearance in court (and now wears everywhere).
- He claims his biggest hit, the 2000 college kegger anthem “Because I Got High,” first introduced the concept; it’s doubtful, but he does have a knack for getting attention.
- The rapper’s court victory has also transformed him into a freedom fighter, which is why he’s in Vegas about to perform for a bunch of libertarian-lite crypto heads.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photograph: Gabriella Angotti-Jones Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Joseph Edgar Foreman is still getting high. In a makeshift greenroom made from curtains at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Afroman, as he’s better known, inhales a blunt rolled by his videographer, who’s wearing a tight cocktail dress and clear sky-high heels. The 51-year-old rapper seems unconcerned that several thousand people are waiting for him, in a room far larger than the dive bars he’s been playing over the past two decades.
Foreman is wearing the same American Flag ensemble that he donned during his recent appearance in court (and now wears everywhere). In 2022, police officers raided his home in Winchester, Ohio, on suspicion of drugs and kidnapping. They found nothing except a jar filled with “green leafy vegetation,” THC wax, pipes, and more than $5,000 in cash. Following the raid, Foreman released a series of songs mocking the cops, rapping about having sex with their wives and their receding hairlines, among other humiliations. Seven of the officers sued him for $4 million for defamation and invasion of privacy. Foreman won, both the trial and the internet, where clips of the rapper on the stand spread like wildfire.
Going viral is Foreman’s forte, after all. He claims his biggest hit, the 2000 college kegger anthem “Because I Got High,” first introduced the concept; it’s doubtful, but he does have a knack for getting attention. As his case against the cops played out, Foreman’s cool demeanor and proselytizing about freedom of speech brought millions of listeners to his music. It didn’t hurt that the videos featured security camera footage of officers in his home. The most famous, “Lemon Pound Cake,” lampoons one who, during the raid, longingly eyed a pastry on the kitchen counter. It’s been watched nearly 10 million times on YouTube, and the cop, now known as “Officer Pound Cake,” said he was sent hundreds of pound cakes as a form of harassment.