And in many of these songs, if you listen closely to the lyrics, you'll hear references to "drank", "lean" or "Barr" — all nicknames for codeine cough syrup, a drug of choice for many in the hip-hop ...

When Codeine released the Frigid Stars LP in 1990, the New York City band single-handedly invented what would later — somewhat cloyingly — become known as "slowcore." Predating influential albums by ...