A recent DoubleBlind Magazine article tells the story of Dr. Leor Roseman, a neuroscience researcher at Imperial College London, who found himself in an unexpected role: scientific observer and trip sitter during the creation of A$AP Rocky’s hit song “Praise the Lord (Da Shine).” What began as a chance encounter outside a London art gallery in 2017 evolved into a year-long collaboration that culminated in Rocky and UK rapper Skepta recording their now-famous track while under the influence of 100 micrograms of a legal LSD analogue.
The resulting track, which has garnered over 687 million YouTube views, exemplifies what Roseman describes as LSD’s unique capacity to enhance focused creative processes through its dopaminergic, energizing effects that can “spark breakthroughs” and help artists “improve something they are already good at.” This partnership embodies what MINDS investigates: how altered states of consciousness can unlock new levels of creative problem-solving.
The article highlights the growing scientific interest in this field, quoting MINDS co-founder Dr. Bruce Damer, who emphasized that research into psychedelics and creativity has “potential to provide increased scientific insight into how psychedelics may influence core cognitive functions like memory and association, which underlie innovative thinking.” While Rocky and Roseman’s collaboration offers compelling anecdotal evidence, it also underscores why rigorous research in this area matters. Stories like theirs reveal the untapped potential of psychedelic-assisted creativity—potential that MINDS is working to understand through careful scientific investigation.
