Yo! Big Pharma rap song all in the name of patient education

The phrase “the pharmaceutical industry gets a bad rap” has more than one meaning.

Actually, bad rap might be too harsh a statement. Check out some of the little ditties from someone who is not, well, Diddy.

ZDoggMD is the alter ego of Dr. Zubin Damania, a doctor at Stanford Hospital who raps in his spare time. But he raps with medical purpose. As ZDogg, Damania wants to tickle patients’ funny bones with the goal of delivering information through humor.

Who knew hemorrhoids could be so funny? He’s a rapping version of “Weird” Al Yankovic. But with a stethoscope.

Take “Big Pharma,” a parody of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa,” a swipe at the pharmaceutical industry that was posted this week. I’ve pasted the full lyrics below for anyone who wants to rap along at their drug company’s annual meeting, but here’s a taste of the hip-hop driven commentary on the relationship between big pharma, profits, patients and everything in between. Keep in mind portions of the video have Damania rapping behind drug ads or in a hot tub.

We charge a lot but claim it’s all for R&D

While we be in the hot tub bumpin’ R&B

You see, we price gougin’ for the greater good

Stampin’ out gout and giving your grandpa wood

And here, ZDogg talks about the life of a physician in “Hard Doc’s Life,” a parody of Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life.”

ZDogg can even rap about venture capital investment, as he showed here prior to his video interview with TechCrunch. In a recent interview with Freelance MD, Damania revealed that he started flexing his musical muscles in college when he majored in both music and molecular biology.

He said that his goal was to become the next Alex Lifeson, guitarist for the band Rush. He eventually decided that he had a better chance of making a living pursuing science rather than music. Rapping is now an outlet that bridges both. But maybe there is still time to revisit those Rush aspirations. Perhaps a medically inspired homage to Rush’s “Moving Pictures” or “2112?”

Lyrics for Big Pharma (a Notorious B.I.G. Big Poppa parody)

To all the patients in the place, I’m style — no grace

Allow me to place these pills and lotions up in your face

Cause I push drugs so my crew be gettin’ paid

Sell you Viagra, though you still ain’t getting laid

Get played with ads: “ask your doc about inflixamab”

Direct-to-consumer’s how we target Boomers now

Got a tumor? Wow. And it just won’t quit?

Well, some of my chemo baby gots to treat with

Complete with side effects you beat with more drugs

The sicker you get, the more we be livin’ large

We charge a lot but claim it’s all for R&D

While we be in the hot tub bumpin’ R&B

You see, we price gougin’ for the greater good

Stampin’ out gout and giving your grandpa wood

Understood: “It’s conspiracy” say anti-vax wackos

But haters gonna hate, yo, save it for Big Tobacco.

I love it when you call me Big Pharma

(Throw your pills in the air, if you got Medicare)

I love it when you call me Big Pharma

(To all the drug reps gettin’ money playing doctors like dummies)

I love it when you call me Big Pharma

I got a patent up in place, generics outta my face

So check out my pipeline tonight, ’cause it’s straight gonna pay me, pay me…