Purple Pills
by D12

Album: Devil's Night (2001)
Charted: 2 19
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song is about drug use. The censored version is called "Purple Hills," with many of the lyrics changed. For example, in the chorus:

    I take a couple uppers
    I down a couple downers
    But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple pills.
    I've been to mushroom mountain
    Once or twice but who's countin'
    But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple pills


    is changed to:

    I've been so many places
    I've seen so many faces
    But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple hills
    I've climbed the highest mountain
    Once or twice but who's countin'
    But nothing compares to these blue and yellow, purple hills
    >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Thomas - Double Springs, AL
  • D12's most prominent member is Eminem, who performs on this track. His solo success thrust D12 into the spotlight and gave this song a big boost. Other hits for the group were "My Band," which reached #6 in the US and #2 in the UK in 2004, and "How Come," which was also a transatlantic hit for D12.
  • The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, follows Eminem cruising through literal "blue and yellow purple hills," a nod to the censored version's lyrics, before meeting up with the rest of D12. Proof, disguised as a clown, is shown terrorizing kids at a birthday party.
  • Nelly was another big-name rapper whose group got its own release in 2001. He had a group called St. Lunatics, which released their album Free City that year. It sold over a million copies and spun off a minor hit called "Midwest Swing."
  • The purple pills became a major problem for Eminem when he got addicted to Vicodin and Valium a few years later. It was most acute after his D12 bandmate Proof was shot and killed in 2006. "My addiction went through the f--kin' roof," he told XXL. "I had f--kin' 10 drug dealers at one time that I'm getting my s--t from. Seventy-five to 80 Valiums a night."

Comments: 1

  • Peter from Carmel, InThis was definitely not their only hit.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Booker T. Jones

Booker T. JonesSongwriter Interviews

The Stax legend on how he cooked up "Green Onions," the first time he and Otis Redding saw hippies, and if he'll ever play a digital organ.

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Bass Player Scott Edwards

Bass Player Scott EdwardsSong Writing

Scott was Stevie Wonder's bass player before becoming a top session player. Hits he played on include "I Will Survive," "Being With You" and "Sara Smile."

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.