Drug subcultures are examples of countercultures that are primarily defined by recreational drug use.

Drug subcultures are groups of people united by a common understanding of the meaning and value (good or otherwise) of the incorporation into one's life of the drug in question. Such unity can take many forms, from friends who take the drug together, possibly obeying certain rules of etiquette, to full-scale political movements for the reform of drug laws. The sum of these parts can be considered an individual drug's "culture".

There are multiple drug subcultures based on the use of different drugs — the culture surrounding cannabis, for example, is very different from that of heroin, due to the different sort of experiences, sentiment amongst the crowd attracted to the drug in question, as well as the problems the users encounter.

Drugs also play an important role in various other subcultures, such as reggae and hip hop music, Rastafari, hippie movements, as well as rave culture. Many artists, especially in 20th century and since then, used various drugs and explored their influence on human life in general and particularly on the creative process.Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas employs drug use as a major theme and provides an example of the drug culture of the 1960s.

Antonio Hardy (born September 10, 1968) better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MCs in Hip Hop. Regarding the name Big Daddy Kane, he said: "The Big Daddy part and the Kane part came from two different things. The Kane part came from my fascination with the martial arts flicks when I was young. The Big Daddy came from something that happened on a ski trip one time involving a young lady."

In 1984, Kane became friends with Biz Markie, and he would co-write some of Biz's best-known lyrics. Both eventually became important members of the Queens-based Juice Crew, a collective headed by renowned producer Marley Marl. Kane signed with Marl's Cold Chillin' Records label in 1987 and debuted the following year with the 12" single "Raw," an underground hit. Kane is known for his ability to syncopate over faster hip hop beats, and despite his asthmatic condition he is acknowledged as one of the pioneering masters of fast-rap. His sense of style is renowned and set a number of late-1980s and early-1990s hip hop trends (high-top fades, velour suits, and four-finger rings). The backronym "King Asiatic Nobody's Equal" is often applied to his moniker.