If you know me, you know that everything is my favorite. Every movie, every show, every band—I love them all. But I have actually managed to narrow them down!
My favorite movie? Everything Everywhere All At Once. My favorite show? Scrubs. My favorite band? Bon Iver.
See? I can commit. And when it comes to my favorite song of all time, there’s no hesitation. It’s Same Drugs by Chance the Rapper.
Same Drugs is the sixth track on Chance the Rapper’s third mixtape, Coloring Book, released on May 13, 2016. And this wasn’t just any mixtape. It was a game-changer.
This was the first project to ever chart on the Billboard 200 based solely on streams. It went on to win Best Rap Album at the Grammys in 2017, making history as the first streaming-only album to ever take home an award. Critics praised it for its unique blend of hip-hop, gospel, and soul, and honestly, there’s nothing else quite like it.
Before we get into Same Drugs, it’s worth appreciating just how stacked this album was. The opening track, All We Got, features the Chicago Children’s Choir alongside Kanye West—Chance’s mentor and one of his biggest influences. Then you have No Problem featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz, an anthem that feels like pure joy. Chance has called Lil Wayne his dream collaboration, and you can tell he’s having the time of his life on that track. And then there’s All Night with Knox Fortune, a song that makes you want to roll the windows down and just drive.
But as great as all of those are, Same Drugs is the one that hits the hardest.
The song runs for 4 minutes and 17 seconds and was written by Chance the Rapper, Nate Fox, Peder Losnegård (Lido), Nico Segal (formerly Donnie Trumpet), Francis Starlite (Francis and the Lights), and Peter Wilkins. Production was handled by Chance, Peter Cottontale, Francis and the Lights, Lido, and Nico Segal.
Knowing that Francis and the Lights had a hand in this song suddenly makes sense. I am a huge fan of his, and their song, May I Have This Dance, and didn’t know he was a part of this song!
Let’s clear this up right away—the song isn’t about drugs. Chance has literally said that. The drugs in the title are just a metaphor for growing up and growing apart.
We all have that one person—whether it’s a friend, a partner, or even a sibling—who we used to share everything with. But then, life happens. Interests change, priorities shift, people move on. Suddenly, you realize you’re not on the same page anymore, and there’s no way to get back to where you were. That’s what this song is about.
Maybe it’s a friendship that faded. Maybe it’s a relationship that didn’t survive adulthood. Maybe it’s just life pulling two people in different directions.
It’s relatable because everyone has gone through it in some way. Maybe you and your best friend used to play video games all night, but now they have a family and no time. Maybe you and your ex used to go to concerts together, but now they don’t even listen to the same music anymore. Maybe you and someone grew up together, but now they don’t even believe in the same things you do.
Chance captures that feeling perfectly—the quiet, heartbreaking moment when you realize you can’t go back.
Beyond its metaphors about growing up, Same Drugs is packed with references to Peter Pan—a story about never growing up and holding onto childhood.
“When did you change? Wendy, you’ve aged.”
“I thought you’d never grow up.”
“Window closed, Wendy got old.”
“You must have lost your marbles.”
“Don’t you miss the days, stranger?”
“You were always perfect, and I was only practice.”
“Wide-eyed kids being kids.”
“What did you do to your hair?”
“When did you start to forget how to fly?”
“I was too late, I was too late.”
“A shadow of what I once was.”
The song isn’t just about growing apart—it’s about one person growing up while the other stays behind. It’s about someone losing their childlike wonder while the other still wants to believe.
That theme carries through the bridge, which is one of the best bridges:
“Don’t forget the happy thoughts
All you need is happy thoughts
The past tense, past bed time
Way back then when everything we read was real
And everything we said rhymed
Wide-eyed kids being kids
Why did you stop?
What did you do to your hair?
Where did you go to end up right back here?
When did you start to forget how to fly?”
Same Drugs starts off as a straight-up piano ballad—no drums, no extra production, just Chance’s voice and the piano. Then the layers start creeping in. By the chorus, those gospel harmonies come in, adding warmth and nostalgia. As the song moves along, soft claps and light percussion slide in, barely noticeable at first, but they give the song just enough movement.
The bridge slows things down, letting everything breathe before it builds up into an outro with reflective guitar licks that feel like the song is drifting off into a dream. Structurally, it doesn’t follow the typical verse-chorus-verse-chorus format—it’s got distinct sections that give it an almost floating, cinematic feel.
A song like this doesn’t need a great music video to be iconic. But in this case, the video only makes it better.
Released on February 6, 2017, and directed by Jake Schreier, the video shows Chance playing piano, singing alongside a puppet. I won’t say anymore. You need to watch it!