Some pairings just make sense. Coffee and mornings. Salt and lime. Cannabis and music.
It's not a coincidence, and it's not new. For over a century, the plant and music have moved together, shaping genres, studios, and entire scenes along the way. Here's how we got from smoky jazz clubs to the sesh you're rolling right now.
Jazz Age Beginnings
Cannabis culture in American music traces back to the 1920s and '30s jazz scene, when musicians in New Orleans, Chicago, and Harlem embraced the plant as part of the creative process. Louis Armstrong was famously vocal about it, calling it a "sweet, sweet mighty fine" companion to the music. It wasn't just recreational, for a lot of musicians, it was a tool for loosening up, tuning in, and finding the pocket in a room full of improvisation.
Songs like "Muggles" and "Reefer Man" weren't subtle about it either. Cannabis wasn't hiding in between the lines of jazz, it was baked into the language of the genre from the jump.
Reggae and the Rise of a Global Symbol
By the 1960s and '70s, cannabis had found its most iconic ambassador in reggae, and specifically in Bob Marley. Rastafarian culture treated cannabis (or "ganja") as a sacrament, a tool for meditation and spiritual connection, and Marley's music carried that philosophy worldwide. Tracks like "Kaya" turned cannabis from a subculture habit into a global symbol of peace, rebellion, and consciousness.
Reggae didn't just talk about cannabis, it built an entire aesthetic and worldview around it, one that still shapes how cannabis culture presents itself today.
Psychedelic Rock's Brief High
By the mid-to-late 1960s, cannabis had found a new soundtrack in psychedelic rock. Bands like The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and early Pink Floyd built their sound around long, exploratory music with songs that stretched, wandered, and unfolded slowly, mirroring the exact headspace cannabis tends to open up. It was music made to get lost in, and cannabis was often along for the ride.
Hip Hop Picks Up the Torch
Cannabis carried straight through into hip hop's DNA, especially once West Coast artists made it central to the sound and lifestyle in the '90s. Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, and Wiz Khalifa (among plenty of others) didn't just reference cannabis, they built entire brands and personas around it. "Smoke Weed Everyday" wasn't a lyric, it was a lifestyle pitch.
This is also where cannabis and California really became synonymous. The West Coast sound with laid-back, bass-heavy, and unhurried vibes mirrored the exact feeling cannabis culture was built around. It's part of why LITTO calls California home.
Counterculture, Community, and a Common Thread
Zoom out across any of these eras, and a pattern shows up every time: wherever cannabis culture has taken root, it's rarely stayed separate from the music around it. Jazz musicians pushing against the rigidity of the mainstream, Rastafarian reggae embodying spiritual resistance, '60s rock scenes rejecting convention outright, hip hop turning outsider status into an entire cultural movement — different sounds, same underlying thread. Cannabis has consistently shown up alongside music that was pushing back on something, gathering people who felt like outsiders into a shared room, a shared ritual, a shared identity.
That's really what ties this whole history together. It was never just about getting high to the music. It was about who you were with when you did.
Electronic, R&B, and the Modern Sesh
Fast forward to now, and the relationship hasn't slowed down, it's diversified. R&B, electronic, lo-fi, and indie scenes have all built their own relationships with cannabis, less about lyrical shoutouts and more about the experience: music as a backdrop for a good sesh, a good session, a good night in or out.
That's the tradition we're leaning into with LITTO Sesh, our new live DJ series, and with our own curated Spotify playlists built for exactly that pairing.
The Sound Behind the High
A century in, the pairing hasn't changed much. Good music still makes a good sesh better. We've put together our own take on that tradition with a set of curated playlists spanning the genres that shaped this history and the ones defining it now.
Listen to LITTO's Sesh Playlists on Spotify →
FAQ
Why are cannabis and music so connected?
Cannabis has been part of music culture since the 1920s jazz scene, and has remained closely tied to genres like reggae, hip hop, R&B, and electronic music ever since. It's used as a creative tool for artists and a shared ritual for listeners.
Which musicians were early cannabis advocates?
Louis Armstrong was one of the earliest and most outspoken cannabis advocates in American music, followed by Bob Marley, whose reggae music and Rastafarian beliefs turned cannabis into a global cultural symbol.
How does cannabis connect to counterculture and music?
Across nearly every era of American music: jazz, reggae, psychedelic rock, and hip hop, cannabis has been tied to counterculture and community, often showing up alongside genres and scenes that pushed back against the mainstream and brought outsider communities together.
How is LITTO connected to music culture?
LITTO continues the cannabis-and-music tradition through LITTO Sesh, our live DJ session series, and our curated Spotify playlists made for every kind of sesh.