All photos by Molly Adams. Lead photo of Skepta during his set.
The 10th edition of HARD Summer Music Festival went down this past weekend, and damn was it a banger. As MERRY JANE showcased in a photo recap yesterday, the crowd was wild, the vibes were full-on, and the lineup was nothing short of “hot fire.” From Mike Will Made It’s first festival appearance (with cameos by Chief Keef and Lil John), to Snoop Dogg performing Doggystyle in full, there were next-level artists to see at all hours of the two-day event.
On top of snapping pics of the performances, we asked photographer Molly Adams to leave the photo pit and set up camp in the artist's lounge, where MERRY JANE was giving out a variety of cannabis treats to musicians and VIPs. There, she took portraits of a number of performers in-between sets, and asked each of them the same (important) question: Why should marijuana be legalized nationwide? Here’s what the lovely folks she cornered had to say.
All interviews have been edited for length and clarity…
Ghetts: I think the world is stressed out right now, ya know racial tensions high [and whatnot]. Weed just relaxes people of that everyday tension.
Must Die: CBD is a fantastic medicine for panic attacks and it has saved my life.
Cray: I think people should be able to do what they want to do. Marijuana does good things.
GG Magree w/ Habstrakt: ‘Cause it’s sexy.
Rose Gold: Because weed is healthy.
Problem: Because weed is the one thing that we all have in common across the world. You can walk in any circle and if somebody lights up, it doesn't matter what race you are. People are gonna go, “Hey, what’s up man…” It’s a great peace maker, a great peace offering, and it just makes everybody feel a little better. I mean, if alcohol and nicotine can be legal, and both kill you, why can’t something that makes you feel better be legal?
Mayor Hawthorne: Because nobody dies from smoking weed. Everybody dies from everything else, but nobody dies from smoking weed.
Yehme2 (half of Flosstradamus): Well it should be legalized for a lot of reasons, but my immediate though is that [tax revenue from selling legal weed] could go to funding schools, funding infrastructure, etc. America is struggling right now, and weed will help on a monetary level, on top of helping everyone chill out.
Gina Turner: Marijuana is such an amazing, medicinal healing plant. I feel like it is so much safer than alcohol, and yet alcohol is more mainstream. I feel like the prescription drug companies fucking suck, and I feel like we could solve a lot of our “problems” with just marijuana. And also, not for nothing, it’s fun to smoke.
Luke James: Should it be legalized? Hell yeah, it should be legalized. They should let everyone out of jail who was put there for selling weed. It is a plant, it helps people, it saves people. It’s a no brainer.
Crichy Crich: Because it makes everybody happy
Drezo: ‘Cause it’s safer than most things that are legal right now.
UNIIQU3 (Right): It should be legalized because it’s tighter than tight.
Ace Manwell (Left): It should be legalized so they can free everybody that’s locked up for pot.
UNIIQU3: Yes, they need to free everybody that’s locked up for pot, and to give them their bread back. Or they need to give them dispensaries. It just needs to be legal so that everyone can free their minds.
Sam King (Right): Marijuana should be legalized because prescription medication sucks ass, but not pleasurable ass — like when you’re eating somebody’s groceries. I’m talking bad ass, like when somebody has stomach problems. So go green, no opioids.
Kittens: Because it has no negative side effects
Madam X: I think it should be legalized because it’s really good for medicinal purposes. Marijuana does some great things for people with Parkinson's disease. I’ve seen people with cancer really help themselves through their ordeal by smoking marijuana. I mean if you look into the science of it, it’s not as bad for you as alcohol is. So there you go.
For more on HARD Summer, revisit our photo recap from yesterday
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