Rapping about Dying

ZDoggMD is something of a celebrity among physicians and medical students. He is the “Weird Al” Yankovic of the medical world – parody songwriter extraordinaire, satirist of medical culture and, at his best, a seriously funny human being. Whether lampooning hospital readmissions or mocking anti-vaxxers, his music videos bring humor to physicians’ challenges as well as their follies.

But listen closely and you will find that, beneath the humor, there often lies a serious message in ZDoggMD’s lyrics. The parodies aim to entertain healthcare workers, of course. But they also seek to educate. “Let’s just prevent readmissions/manage those chronic conditions/need time preparing the handoffs/move along to other clinicians,” he raps in “Readmission,” a parody of the R&B hit “Ignition (remix).” In the music video, ZDoggMD utters these lines in a hospital ward, wearing a lavish fur coat and sunglasses in the fashion of a rap musician. The routine is absurd – and funny – but the goal is more than mere entertainment. ZDoggMD’s light touch of humor warms us up for a serious conversation on a topic that is no laughing matter.

Ain’t the Way to Die

For his latest video, “Ain’t the Way to Die” (a parody of Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie”), ZDoggMD forgoes humor altogether – a first, according to his blog. Stripping away humor, the song takes a more direct approach to talking seriously about a topic that many of us prefer to avoid – death and dying. As ZDoggMD writes, “…we too often fail to have those difficult but crucial discussions about dying, and this failure leads to untold human suffering and billions in squandered resources. We are failing as caregivers, we are failing as family members, and we are failing as individuals – failing to simply have a conversation that ensures that we direct our own destiny. Plainly put, we need to talk about dying.”

Talking about dying is hard. It’s uncomfortable. As a medical student, I’ve become acutely aware of the discomfort. I feel it too, even as an observer. For all of us, the challenge is to communicate effectively about death and dying in spite of the discomfort, and in that regard ZDoggMD’s sentiment too often rings true: We are failing as caregivers, family members, and individuals to have these crucial conversation about the end of life.

Conversation Starter

Thankfully, there are people working to make these conversations a little easier. Caring Conversations, a resource developed by the Center for Practical Bioethics, for years has guided patients and their families through the process of advanced care planning. In its own way, ZDoggMD’s “Ain’t the Way to Die” can also facilitate these conversations, by melodically breaking the ice on death and dying: “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn/end of life and all my wishes go unheard/they just prolong me and don’t ask why/it’s not right because this ain’t the way to die, ain’t the way to die.” 

The musical stylings may be off-putting to some, but for those who enjoy rap music – and those who can tolerate it – the lyrics of “Ain’t the Way to Die” succeed in broaching a wide range of end-of-life issues, from family discord to resuscitation. And this brings us to what is perhaps the greatest virtue of “Ain’t the Way to Die” – that the breadth of issues addressed in the short video makes the parody a conversation-starter for healthcare workers and patients alike.  

All of us must find a way to communicate clearly in conversations about the end of life. “Ain’t the Way to Die” may help some of us find the words to do so. With that in mind, I encourage you to watch the video and share it with others.  No matter one’s background or profession, each of us will one day face the end of life. Starting a conversation about how you want to face it gives you the best shot at doing it on your own terms. 


Written By Joel Burnett. Joel Burnett is an MD candidate at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.