PotGuide's 4/20 Playlist

It’s 4/20. You got your bong, your dab rig, a bowl of edibles or however you’re getting in the holiday spirit. You’ve got some freshly vaccinated friends coming over, or are celebrating safely with your pod. Everything’s ready, except the music. 

Choosing songs for a dope 4/20 playlist can be a challenge. Throwing on any song about weed means jumping from reggae classics like “Legalize it” to folk songs like “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” to children’s songs like “Puff the Magic Dragon,” and Snoop Dogg’s (*gestures at everything Snoop Dogg’s ever done.*) This can cause some musical whiplash for your guests.

We at PotGuide believe that a good 4/20 playlist has a nice, groovy mix of tracks that gets you dancing in your living room, singing along with friends, or just nodding your head along while you chill with your people. It’s gotta have some classics, some newer hits, and some weed-adjacent songs that still bop.

That’s why we’ve put together this 4/20 playlist as a good place to get your party started.

Below you’ll find all you need for boppin’ with the bong or jamming with a joint. We’ve got decibels for edibles and a concert for concentrates, let’s party.

1. Paper Planes - MIA 

   “I fly like paper/Get high like planes” 

   From the Clash-sampled hook to the sound-effects punctuated chorus, this song about getting high and committing crimes is a great start to any mix. Instantly iconic, MIA’s Paper Planes sets the mood for good times to come.

2. Hits from the Bong - Cypress Hill

   “Pick it, pack it/Fire it up, come along/And take a hit from the bong”

   Sampling “Son of a Preacher Man” into a laid back hook, “Hits from the Bong” is a love letter to the joy of deep, bubbly rips. Less of a pump-up jam than “Insane in the Membrane” and groovier than “I Wanna Get High,” this is our pick for that always-necessary Cypress Hill track. 

3. Be, I Do - Nightmares on Wax

   “The most magnificent/Living life that’s benevolent/The highest of the highest of/Anything Equivalent…”

   Legendary British producer DJ E.A.S.E already put out a weed-themed trip hop album titled “Smoker’s Delight.” Instead of picking an individual track off that mix, throw on “Be, I Do.” This is the one to play when you want to sway side to side with a goopy smile across your face.

4. I Got 5 On It - Luniz

   “I got five on it/messin' with that Indo weed”

   Some 4/20 songs you dance to, some you sit back and groove with, and some you belt out the chorus at the top of your lungs with anyone in the room. “I Got 5 On It” is the third one. A classic tale of friendship, investment strategies, and rolling a fat blunt. 

5. Lil’ Dicky - Too High

   “Aye, but like, I've been thinking 'bout like/When the sun goes behind the clouds, what does it do?/Like, does it smile?”/i>

   Every 4/20 mix needs at least one funny song about weed. Since Afroman’s “Because I Got High” is already a classic, sub in the Lil’est D in the game. “Too High” is a song about not wanting to look weak in front of your friends, the challenges of going shopping when you’re mega-baked, and forgetting food in the oven.

6. America’s Most Blunted - Madvillain

   “Doom nominated for best-rolled L’s/And you wonder why he deal with stress so well?”

   When it came to beats, wordplay, flow, or pretty much any metric that you can measure hip-hop by, MF Doom was on another level. If “I Got 5 On It” is about navigating the social contract of blunt smoking, “America’s Most Blunted” is a chiller ode to the simple act of going to the corner store, splitting open a leaf, and making your day flow better.

7. Blue Scholars - Tommy Chong

   “And any time they burned it/The people started dancing./Medicine man put the people in a trance.”

   A weed history lesson from start to finish, “Tommy Chong” is easier to bop your head to than a Youtube lecture. The beat makes easy background listening, but pay attention to the lyrics. It’s a celebration of marijuana’s long path through human history. 

8. Outkast - Crumblin’ Erb

   “There's only so much time left in this crazy world/I'm just crumblin' erb, I'm just crumblin' erb”

   As Andre 3000 and Big Boi knew, a lot of life just isn’t under our control. That’s why you just gotta roll that joint and ride with the good times when you can. “Crumblin’ Erb” might hit a little different after the past year, but sometimes weed’s there for the moments of introspection. Those are important too.

9. Uh Huh - Method Man

   “Light up that extra lethal, I mean that “oooh-wee/3 years and 2 Gs/I’m back with new trees/I’m wrapped in loose leaves.”

   By reputation, every song by Method Man aka Johnny Blaze is also a weed song. We’re including this weed-adjacent one simply because “Uh Huh” is a full-on banger that’ll turn heads when you want to bring the room back up. 

10. Bonfire Sessions - King Fantastic

    “And I’m not stressin’/God bless smoke sessions”

    “Bonfire Sessions” should be better known amongst weed-song cannon. It’s a light-hearted track about smoking your way through a bad day, which is something many people can relate to. 

11. Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg

    “Rollin’ down the street, smokin indo/Sippin on gin and juice/Laid back”

    Snoop Dogg’s gonna show up on any 4/20 playlist. There are other Snoop Dogg songs that are only about smoking weed, but a party classic is a party classic, and “Gin and Juice” is one for the ages.

When it comes to music about weed, your options are pretty endless. Both Tom Petty and Rick James sang about their love of Mary Jane. Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” and Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” are both heavy guitar riffs on the joys of herb. Even classic R&B from Ray Charles “Let’s Go Get Stoned” to Muddy Water’s “Champagne and Reefer” can get thrown on the track list. Start with our 4/20 Playlist, then see where the mood takes you.

What are your favorite 4/20 jams? Keep the party going in the comments below!