Lil Wayne Gives Up Cough Syrup, Chopped And Screwed Is Officially Dead

Just like Keith Richards giving up alcohol, we never thought this would happen either: Lil Wayne has apparently cut out his cough syrup drink habit. That means the end of the "chopped and screwed" scene could be upon us.

Lil Wayne has been notorious for appearing almost everywhere with a styrofoam cup containing promethazine-codeine cough syrup mixed with juice, which doctors typically prescribe to treat pneumonia. He famously said he would "never" give up the drink just last April, but he recently told Rolling Stone he's stopped consuming it entirely.

"I haven't fucked with that in a long time," he said, insisting he quit drinking cough syrup and juice last May, doing it "cold turkey."

That said, there's a huge chance his tour bus will continue to reek with the stench of weed, since he says he'll never give up smoking marijuana.

"I smoke weed all day," he told Rolling Stone. "I'm a very successful addict. And a smart one. And a very charismatic one."

Lil Wayne kicking the sizzurup officially means the "chopped and screwed"scene is dead.

In case you're unfamiliar, "chopped and screwed" is a style of hip-hop that emerged in Houston in the early '90s. Basically, it involves slowing the tempo in rap songs down to 60 to 70 quarter-note beats per minute, which is reaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyyyyy sllllllllllllooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwww. The vocals also sound really, really fucked up.

The theory is that "chopped and screwed" hip-hop sounds lethargic and messed up because there was a spike in cough syrup consumption in Houston around this time, and "chopped and screwed" tracks musically represent how slow things feel when you're high on syrup. That said, DJ Screw, the creator of the term, has said he came up with it while high on pot, not syrup. Tons of mixtapes featuring "screwed" up versions of hip-hop songs in "chopped and screwed" style have been released since the '90s.

If you're curious, it's worth checking out this VBS/Vice documentary from 2007, Screwed In Houston, which documents the rise of the cough syrup scene, how it originated and how it's influenced mainstream hip-hop.

Of course, Lil Wayne is from New Orleans, not Houston, but he's responsible for mainstreaming "chopped and screwed" music.

Perhaps the reason for going cold turkey on the cold remedy is Wayne's potentially uneven supply of the purple stuff in prison. In 2007, Wayne was arrested in New York after officers found a .40-calibre pistol on his tour bus. He pleaded guilty to felony gun possession in October and is expected to begin serving a year-long sentence on Tuesday (Feb. 9).

"I just say I'm looking forward to it," Lil Wayne told Rolling Stone.

"I know it's an experience that I need to have if God's putting me through it."