Songs about ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can be some of the most intriguing insights into the mindset of someone living with the condition.
Many artists given the diagnosis have channelled their symptoms and experiences into art, creating sonic reflections of their lifestyles under the influence of ADHD.
Whether you’re seeking a track that gets what you’re going through, or are trying to understand the mindset of a loved one, our playlist collects some stand-out pop and hip-hop songs about ADHD & ADD, each evoking a different representation of the illness.
Songs About ADHD
1. Joyner Lucas – ADHD
Joyner Lucas’ 2019 hip-hop/pop track mixes its morose chorus melodies with lightning fast rap sections to create a catchy yet brutally honest insight into the mindset of someone living with ADHD.
From his very first unbridled lyrics, “It kinda feels like I’m dying on the inside, it kinda feels like I been trying to get by,” Lucas devotes his track to sharing an unashamed introspection into his childhood ADHD diagnosis, opening up about the highs and lows of being subjected to a relentlessly unique method of thought and experience;
“My mind racing, I been paranoid, overthinking, maybe that’s a void, don’t cut me off like I don’t have a voice, I think I was born different, I ain’t really have a choice.”
This track’s beat carries a very subtle illusion of gradually speeding up as each verse progresses whilst retaining its original tempo, as if mirroring the compulsion to break from expectation and waltz to your own rhythm.
2. slowthai – adhd
slowthai’s irrepressibly authentic approach to grime has spawned an array of dark and unconventional masterpieces within his discography, his 2021 single, adhd, being no exception.
slowthai very subtly submerses his verses within the beat, his lyrics’ initial subdued audibility when compared to the piercing scream are designed to mirror the tentative nature of honesty, self-acceptance and progression.
This track is rooted in the realistic pessimism of suffering from mental illness, stripping away the modern glamorisation and baring nothing but the bleak, unbreakable cycle of ADHD;
“Tough lad and I always put a face on, told me already that leopards can’t change spots … I’m tryna fly but my wings feel broken, an eagle encaged in a closure, lowest of lows, decomposing, I’m sober, a loner, I can’t be alone, why I always pick the phone up.”
3. Chris Webby – A.D.D.
Chris Webby crafts his rap track, A.D.D, around striking lyrical lists of symptoms electrified by the bittersweet truth of thriving in the rap industry due to mental illness.
A.D.D is centred around an Adderall and Ritalin prescription/addiction having little effect upon the narrator’s recovery, opening the floodgates for a fearless display of symptoms and effects;
“I don’t pay attention, I miss out on every lesson, get lost ’cause I wasn’t listening when I got the directions, start typing in my phone then forget who I was texting, zone out during sex and lose my f****** erection.”
Webby threads his track with a bounty of clever lyrical wordplay surrounding the perceived futility of a hyperactive mind, creating a track for anyone maintaining a brave face over their illness;
“My brain’s unravelled over time like a rope does, lost my mind like the change in your sofas … Got A.D.D so bad, I can’t even add.”
4. Forever The Sickest Kids – Ritalin
This pop punk track by Forever The Sickest Kids offers a vibrant, upbeat take on the topic of ADHD. Ritalin is a song about not fitting in and feeling like you’re falling apart whilst living with ADHD, detailing the symptoms and catalysts of the narrator’s diagnosis;
“I was born in America but I feel like I was raised on Mars … I’ve got a real short temper and I’m out of my mind, should’ve been medicated when I was young, but my mom choose to pray instead of whoring me out.”
Whilst highlighting the dreadful effects of social media on our mentality, Ritalin’s bright sound is embellished with an empowering message of keeping strength and self-belief;
“I know I’ve been told I’ve got fire in my heart, but the world it brings me down, I’m not sure how much more I can take, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
5. Air Traffic Controller – Hurry, Hurry
Air Traffic Controller’s 2012 indie pop single, Hurry, Hurry, draws together an erratic mix of bubbly textures.
Between a marching band-style snare beat layered with pixelated video game sound effects, ATC detail a life lived in a flurry, their hectic city perspective translating seamlessly to the day-to-day restlessness of someone coping with ADHD.
A number of parallels are drawn between the lifestyle of a non-stop city worker and the chaos of being trapped within a hyperactive mindset, shaping a song for anyone compelled to speed so fast they become blind to the scenery around them;
“Hurried through these crowded streets, and I hurried through the food I eat, and I hurried when it’s time to learn and why? how many good people have I burned? … In bed I lie, good place to die, I did my best, never relaxed, my heart attacks my little chest, I stop to smell the roses, my body decomposes.”
ATC cleverly skip every possible instrumental section that could flourish within their track. They artfully neglect to break up their verses and choruses, instead letting their lyrics flow fluently and incessantly throughout the song, like the uncontrollable, non-stop thought patterns summoned by ADHD.
6. Clover The Girl – ADHD
Clover The Girl’s pop track, ADHD, uses its cute and quirky soundscape to illustrate a late-teen perspective on the illness.
Detailing bipolar-like symptoms of elated love and rage, Clover uniquely metaphorises the narrator as “feeling broken like a Barbie doll,” before losing composure and turning the tables; “Mama gave me ADHD, so don’t blame me.”
Clover’s verses are composed to be as relatable as they are insightful, highlighting attention deficity as much as hyperactivity;
“Day and night, in the moment, out of focus, out of line but I can’t help it … swaying back and forth, no dance floor, a million things keep spinning round in my head … Fighting like hell just to keep my attention, everyone knows something I must be missing.”
7. Kendrick Lamar – A.D.H.D
Kendric Lamar crafts his ADHD track against a lush, mellow soundscape evocative of dreamy drug hazes and disconnection from reality.
Riddling his verses with drug references, most notably, “a generation sipping cough syrup like it’s water,” A.D.H.D is anchored in the recurring theme of ‘crack babies,’ drawing attention to a generation of children predisposed to addiction through their mother’s antenatal drug use.
From house parties sustained by casual illicit activity, to an erratic conversation with a girl with ADHD, this track almost dances around the topic while staring it square in the face, Lamar’s unpinnable lyrics themselves acting as a reflection of ADHD-like effects spawned from excessive drug use.