Well over here it is kinda an old drug really; huge in the mid- eighties and early nineties and a few people made a quick buck in the process.

To some degree the imagery surrounding drugs has always flirted with the music scene; with hip hop it was spliffs; with rave music or trance it was ecstasy or any other chemical produce drug... but that is all by the way.

I think ecstasy has now legitimated itself by entering popular culture; hip-hop been the forerunner of that; however that also will be its downfall as more segments of youth culture high jack its use and imagery. But ironically it is a reflection of our romance with the past - the seventies to be specific; in one way or the other ecstasy has been around for a while.

The problem with youth culture is that it is becoming incredibly mobile and they although still very conservative at heart, are still able to surf in and out of potentially dangerous chemical cliches. In this great struggle to be identified as the other is paramount, a label which for example pushers of hip hop want to abandon; they on the other hand want to sell records to every body; and if ecstasy helps; even just hinting about it - well it's all good basically - that's the way they see it.

So ecstasy is, has been around a long time; ironically an old drug heroin is coming back over here: and there are x amount of conspirator theories of how they are getting in; the fact of the matter is that people to some degree love to get high: even though the benefits are great the causalities are also very high. In some way if hip-hop has bent towards this new cliche; nobody should really be surprised: let's see for how long it can ride this gravy train.


xala