One year after becoming Chief Brand Strategist of the California-based cannabis company Caliva, Jay-Z announced his first marijuana line entitled Monogram.
The line launched with a new website and Instagram to tease the new Monogram wares, though no details about specific strains or products were released. A press release said of the brand, “With its careful strain selection, meticulous cultivation practices and uncompromising quality, Monogram seeks to redefine what cannabis means to consumers today.”
It’s also unclear when Monogram products will be available in dispensaries, and whether or not they will just be available in California or other states where marijuana is legal. The company also plans to launch a “best in class e-commerce platform dedicated exclusively to its singular product line.”
Jay-Z joined Caliva as Chief Brand Strategist last July, striking a deal for a multi-year partnership to help out with creative decisions, outreach efforts and strategy. The role, however, was also designed for the rapper to focus on social justice issues surrounding legalization, such as improving representation and participation of previously incarcerated people who are still being kept out of the legal weed business in large numbers.
“Anything I do, I want to do correctly and at the highest level,” Jay said in a statement at the time. “With all the potential in the cannabis industry, Caliva’s expertise and ethos make them the best partners for this endeavor. We want to create something amazing, have fun in the process, do good and bring people along the way.”
Jay-Z is the latest rapper to enter the legal marijuana business. In 2015, Snoop Dogg launched his own weed brand, Leafs by Snoop (it’s distributed in Canada by the weed giant Canopy Growth), while last year 2 Chainz partnered with Green Street Agency and Mazel Management Group to launch his own company, The Gas Cannabis Co. Other MCs like Wiz Khalifa, Freddie Gibbs and Juicy J have all developed their own signature strains, while in 2018 Cypress Hill’s B-Real opened his own dispensary in California, fittingly naming it Dr. Greenthumb’s.
From Rolling Stone US
