Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) entered the Paris Conservatoire of Music in 1826. As a boy, Berlioz adored both music and literature, and he went on to compose the Symphonie Fantastique, in which the hero (a thinly disguised representation of Berlioz himself) supposedly survives a large dose of narcotic. Another interpretation of the Symphonie Fantastique is that it describes the dreams of a jilted lover (Berlioz), possibly attempting suicide by an overdose of opium. This work is a milestone marking the beginning of the Romantic era of music. His creativity was fired in particular by a love for great literature and an unquenchable passion for the feminine ideal, and in the best of his works these elements conspired to produce music of exquisite beauty.
Berlioz took opium to relieve agonizing toothaches, but there is no indication that he ever took opium to become intoxicated, as the author De Quincey did.
The program Berlioz wrote for Symphonie Fantastique reads, in part:
“A young musician of morbid sensibility and ardent imagination in a paroxysm of love-sick despair has poisoned himself with opium. The drug too weak to kill plunges him into a heavy sleep accompanied by strange visions. His sensations, feelings, and memories are translated in his sick brain into musical images and ideas.”
Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor (1940 - 2005) A comedic legend, trendsetter, actor and writer was known for his introspective comedy. He was not scared of telling the truth, even if it was about his own embarrassing and unfortunate life. From growing up the son of a madam in a whorehouse to lighting himself aflame while freebasing. One of his characters was Mudbone, an elderly wino from Tuskaloosa, AL who shared his open views on the evolution of the Negro. To his own admission, Richard Pryor said he never wrote the dialogue for the Mudbone scripts. He said Mudbone was a character that accompanied him on stage from time to time. Richard said that he was only a messenger; he just repeated what Mudbone said. As a user of Crack Cocaine, Richard said that one day, Mudbone said he was not going to come on stage with him anymore if he did not stop using drugs. After that day, Richard stopped doing “Mudbone” as one of his signature characters.
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne (1982 - )Signed in the rap game at the age of 12, Lil Wayne has come a long way from the Magnolia Projects in New Orleans. As a Grammy Award Winner and recorded record sales of more than 4.5 Million, Lil Wayne has been regarded as the Tupac of his generation with the amount of hits he has created as well as the sheer amount of tracks recorded. With him crossing borders and gaining audiences outside of the South, he has broken onto the Billboard charts with cross genre hits of all types except Country and that may be in his near future. Along with his success however, came a habit that came from the South; Sippin’ Sizzurp. Sizzurp is a concocted punch made of prescription cough syrup including Codeine and Promethazine mixed with juice(s). The drink is known to cause a conscious level of “walking dead”. As a downer, Sizzurp most likely has you zoned out for hours. After the death of the Southern Rapper Pimp C, Lil Wayne has been said to be slowing down on Sizzurp but he still makes references to it in his songs.
Its obvious that these mental stimulants have lead to some level of individual successes of the aforementioned artists. However, making a deal with the devil (in this case drugs) can lead to an early and sometimes sudden death. As the only one of these three still with us, I hope Lil Wayne finds another vice; something healthier.
Question: Can there be a healthy balance between Mental Stimulants, Creativity and Health?
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