Because of its rarity, you won’t find the original vinyl at your local record shop. However, the album has been unofficially uploaded to YouTube and various audio archive sites. A word of caution: the sound quality is intentionally poor. Some bootleg CD reissues exist, but Cheech and Chong have never authorized a digital release. In interviews, Tommy Chong has said, “That album is an embarrassment. Don’t buy it—but if you find it for free, enjoy the joke.”
By: The Vinyl Archaeologist
If you were to look at the Billboard Comedy Charts in early 1980, you would see a familiar name sitting at the top. Cheech and Chong were the undisputed kings of stoner comedy. They had just come off the massive success of the movie Up in Smoke, and their albums were practically required listening for dorm rooms across America.
But buried in their discography, nestled between the cinematic blockbuster Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie and the greatest hits compilation Greatest Hit, sits a record that often gets overlooked. It’s an album that captures a duo at a crossroads, bridging the gap between their gritty, counterculture roots and their impending mainstream Hollywood superstardom.
I’m talking about "Let’s Make A New Dope Deal."
If you type "Cheech and Chong you got ripped off album" into a search engine, you might be looking for this specific record, or perhaps you’re thinking of the skit where the duo gets swindled. But today, we’re looking at the album that asked the question: Can you sell out to the mainstream while still pretending to sell drugs out of a van? cheech and chong you got ripped off album
To understand the Cheech and Chong You Got Ripped Off album, you need to understand the duo’s relationship with Warner Bros. Records in the late 1970s. By 1980, Cheech and Chong were superstars. They had released six successful studio albums, starred in two hit movies (Up in Smoke and Cheech & Chong's Next Movie), and were working on their third film, Nice Dreams.
However, their contract with Warner Bros. was coming to an end, and they owed the label one more album. The problem? They had no new material. They were creatively burnt out, focused on film, and unhappy with their compensation. Instead of rushing a half-baked album of new sketches, the duo’s management and Warner Bros. lawyers found a loophole: they could fulfill the contract by releasing a compilation of unreleased outtakes, alternate takes, and live recordings.
But Cheech and Chong, known for their anti-establishment humor, decided to weaponize the deal. They deliberately titled the album You Got Ripped Off as a direct message to fans: Don’t buy this. We’re being forced to make it. The cover art—a parody of a bootleg record with a crudely drawn label reading “YOU GOT RIPPED OFF”—made the joke explicit. The duo even refused to promote it.
Why would two of the biggest comedians in the world intentionally release a product that tells you, to your face, that you’ve been cheated?
It was performance art. Or sheer gall.
In the early 80s, record labels were compressing artists’ royalties. Cheech & Chong were contractually obligated to deliver one more album to Warner Bros. They didn’t want to. So, they subverted the system. They released exactly what the contract demanded—a vinyl record with grooves in it—but they stripped it of any substantial value. By titling the experience "You Got Ripped Off," they shifted the blame from themselves to the industry.
They were saying: "Don't be mad at us. You bought a product without checking the track listing. The label charged you $9.98. We’re just the messengers."
It was a post-modern joke that nobody laughed at. Fans felt betrayed. Critics savaged it. Rolling Stone famously gave it a one-star review, writing: "The only funny thing about this record is that someone actually paid to master it."
If you’re a completionist or a stoner comedy historian, yes. But go in with low expectations. The album is funny for about ten minutes—mainly the parts where Cheech and Chong break character and complain about the record industry. The rest is filler, flubbed lines, and sound effects that go nowhere.
Yet, that’s the point. The Cheech and Chong You Got Ripped Off album is performance art about consumer exploitation. It’s a middle finger to record labels packaged as a product. In an era of streaming and corporate playlists, this album feels more relevant than ever. It asks: Are you really getting value, or are you getting ripped off? Because of its rarity, you won’t find the
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Album Analysis Report: Get Out of My Room (1985)
Subject: Analysis of the Cheech & Chong album containing the track "You Got Ripped Off" Artists: Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong Release Date: 1985 Genre: Comedy / Spoken Word / Rock
The cover of the Cheech and Chong You Got Ripped Off album is as infamous as the music inside. Instead of the colorful, cartoonish art typical of their releases, the cover was plain white cardboard with a black stamp that read: “YOU GOT RIPPED OFF – Cheech & Chong.” Below it, in small print: “This album contains previously unreleased material of dubious quality.”
Some early pressings even included a fake price tag that said “$8.98 – Too Much.” The back cover featured a photo of Cheech and Chong laughing and pointing at the viewer, as if to say, “We can’t believe you paid for this.” Album Analysis Report: Get Out of My Room