Rumors and videos of some of the biggest names in the rap game using nitrous oxide (AKA “laughing gas”) have circulated for years. In 2020, Gunna was spotted on Instagram Live hitting a whippet (another nickname for nitrous oxide), which disappointed some fans.
More recently, Ye was put into the spotlight for his alleged nitrous oxide use. Ye’s former chief of staff, Milo Yiannopoulous, posted a thread on X on August 7th listing out the reasons why Ye “is no longer capable of successfully releasing music or clothing.”
Yiannopoulous continued by stating that “in fact, there are several reasons. But the most serious and the most recent is his dentist, Thomas Connelly. Connelly got Ye hooked on nitrous—laughing gas. It is my belief that Connelly sought to diminish Ye’s mental faculties so that Connelly and his business associates could extract millions of dollars from him.”
You can read more about Yiannopoulous’ claims and receipts, Connelly’s statement denying the accusations, and the dangerous effects of nitrous oxide in our article, which gives a detailed breakdown here.
Despite all of these potential side effects that can alter your life for the worst, nitrous oxide is becoming more accessible and popular due to the brand Galaxy Gas — and SZA is calling BS.
Galaxy Gas is not your friend
On September 19, SZA put out her own PSA of the long-term consequences of nitrous oxide out on X, specifically calling out Galaxy Gas.
She pointed out the brand’s marketing, saying there’s “Something about the childlike designs and marketing is so spooky like .. stars and bright colors? you tryna entice the kids on purpose ? Why when u google does it say it was founded in metro Atlanta in 2021 but no further info …sumn tells me the owner looks like colonel sanders.”
Many people agreed with SZA online, pointing out how similar it looks to other drug products and accessories available for purchase.
Others pointed out how using nitrous oxide has been around for a long time but is just now coming back into the spotlight.
“It didn’t come out of nowhere, i remember ppl doing it when i was in hs back in 2011. It’s just getting traction with the new generation cuz of social media & for some reason being mass produced. You used to have to buy a big tank of nos from a car shop & fill balloons,” X user erfangle said in a September 20 post.
Galaxy Gas has a sus website
Nevertheless, Galaxy Gas doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Founded in 2021 in the Atlanta area, the product is meant to turn liquid cream (with flavors like Mango Smoothie) into foam toppers for drinks and desserts. However, people as young as teenagers are now huffing straight out of the cans on social media platforms and can easily cop the product in stores like Walmart.
The website issues a warning when you first get onto the page stating that there is a “condition of sale of nitrous oxide products” and that “products containing nitrous oxide are sold solely as a food processing propellant for whipped cream and culinary food use only … By purchasing products containing nitrous oxide you expressly agree and warrant your possession and use shall be legally compliant and strictly limited to culinary food preparation as lawfully intended and for no other purpose….”
Like other websites, from cannabis to porn, that have age restrictions, anyone can lie and pass the warning to purchase the necessary supplies to get high.
They also give a breakdown of what nitrous oxide is and what their products specifically are.
“A Whipped Cream Charger is a stainless steel cartridge filled with nitrous oxide (N2O) gas. Nitrous Oxide is a gas that helps cream, as well as other ingredients, form into a frothy, whipped state upon dispensing. Compared to traditional whipping by hand, whipped cream chargers are able to increase the volume of whipped cream by 4x … An average whipped cream charger contains 8 grams of N2O under pressure and is non-refillable,” the website states.
On the official shop tab, the website has merchandise like aprons and mugs and the actual dispensers for the Galaxy Gas on sale. They don’t sell the Galaxy Gas on their website, though, which is fishy, to say the least.
Certain US states are cracking down
Oxygen is mixed with nitrous oxide during medical procedures to ensure the patient has enough oxygen during the treatment. It was recently featured on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, showing the reality stars being administered laughing gas to minimize the pain of Botox injections. However, the reality stars admitted that they don’t do drugs in adherence to Mormon rules, but the effects were euphoric (“It’s a party, one of the wives said while giggling), and it’s a bit of a loophole since it’s used for “medical reasons.”
However, products like Galaxy Gas are pure nitrous oxide and can potentially cause full-on crashouts… or whatever this is.
While selling and purchasing nitrous isn’t necessarily illegal, California can give someone a misdemeanor if they use or own nitrous oxide to get intoxicated. Some states took it up to a whole new level like Iowa and Louisiana, where it is now illegal to use, sell, or possess nitrous oxide to inhale it at any age.
Not every rapper and platform is N20’s “ride or die”
Some rappers’ devotion to the cans goes so far as to make music videos and even talk about their use of nitrous oxide live, like Skrilla, which can negatively influence their fans and those watching.
Nevertheless, SZA isn’t the only one trying to help put a spot to the madness. Lil Gnar trolled the brand in a video posted on September 18 of him showing off the best way to use Galaxy Gas — throwing it directly into the dumpster.
TikTok now has a warning and redirects to their safety center when searching for “Galaxy Gas” and nitrous oxide in the app, stating that “some substances can be dangerous when used or misused. Learn more about how drugs, alcohol and tobacco can affect your mind, body and behavior.”
Light-hearted memes about the trend and videos of people hitting Galaxy Gas are still taking over social media as more rappers like Lil Uzi Vert show their usage online.
Unfortunately, it will take more than just a couple of famous names and attempts at social media blocks to stop Galaxy Gas from reaching astronomical heights.