Smoke Weed, Drink Shots… Why Should I Stop?

Light up that marijuana, order another round of shots, why would I want to stop partying?

That’s the message of a hit song and music video that has crawled to the top of the charts, currently riding in the top 10 of Spotify, Billboard and iTunes.

But you’d never know it at first listen.

The song is called Turn Down for What, by DJ Snake and Lil’ Jon. It has a beat much like the popular Harlem Shake, but with lyrics proclaiming the message, Why would I want to stop partying?

Here’s a peek at the lyrics:

Fire up your loud
‘nother round of shots

Turn down for what
Turn down for what
Turn down for what
Turn down for what

That’s it. The song just repeats it over and over again.

“Loud” is a term for marijuana, so “fire up your loud” means light up. Sure, loud can also mean being loud and crazy, so it’s a nice “under the radar” message the song communicated. Parents don’t really know what it means, but many kids do.

We all know what “nother round of shots” means, but what does “turn down for what” mean?

“Turn up” means to get drunk or high. So if someone asks you to turn down, they are saying, “Chill,” maybe because you’re out of control or are going to get them in trouble. Then they might reply, “Turn down for what?” Meaning, “I’m not going to stop this partying for nothing. I don’t care!” Urban Dictionary defines it as being drunk and high and continuing to be all night no matter what.

In short, the song is saying, get high, get drunk and crazy, and don’t listen to anyone who tells you to stop. What reason is there to stop?

The music video is an entirely different kind of profane, hard to even explain. If you decide to view it, be warned: you will see plenty of footage focusing on a grown man’s crotch moving to the beat of the song from inside his pants, and him humping a TV set (along with other things), as well as a woman smashing stuff with her large, out-of-control boobs from inside her shirt.

The more interesting subtle vibe the video captures is giving into the “who cares” and “go crazy” mentality when you feel the beat and don’t want to “turn down” or stop partying for anything.

What would you kids take away from this song?

The message isn’t such a surprise. Today’s young people seem to resonate with the message of “I can do what I want.” Last year’s song of the summer was Miley’s We Can’t Stop, proclaiming a similar message.

The question is, are you talking with you kids about these messages?

Let us help. Here’s our MUSIC DISCUSSION for the song, providing you with scripture, research from Rudgers University about alcohol abuse, and questions to dialogue about this with your kids.

JONATHAN MCKEE IS THE AUTHOR OF OVER A DOZEN BOOKS AND WRITES ABOUT YOUTH CULTURE AND PARENTING EACH WEEK. HIS BRAND NEW BOOK GET YOUR TEENAGER TALKING IS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IN YOUR LOCAL BOOK STORES.