Jay-Z is the latest celebrity to jump into the cannabis business

Rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z launched his own brand of cannabis, Monogram, in partnership with Caliva, a California-based company that had already hired the celebrity as head of brand strategy last year.

In November, the Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp.. – the largest cannabis specialty procurement company in history – has agreed to acquire Caliva and another California cannabis company, Left Coast Ventures, to form a new entity called The Parent Company.

Subversive Capital chairman Michael Auerbach told CNBC he expects the music entrepreneur's influence to generate strong interest in his stock and products. “Certainly Jay-Z and the affiliation with Roc Nation will bring attention to our company and our actions,” said Auerbach. “We hope there will be a lot of demand for our name because of this relationship.”

Jay-Z will assume an executive leadership role at The Parent Co., guiding the brand's strategy as its strategic director, while also leading the company's Social Equity Ventures fund, which aims to invest in black and minority-owned cannabis businesses. .

The SPAC transaction is expected to close in January 2021. The shares will be traded on the NEO Exchange in Canada and will be available to US investors.

“I created Monogram to give cannabis the respect it deserves”

“Monogram marks a new chapter in cannabis, defined by dignity, care and consistency. It’s a collective effort to bring out the best and a humble quest to discover what the best really means,” highlights Monogram’s website.

4 grams of cannabis flower with 34% THC costs $70 at Monogram's online store

Cannabis is grown at The Parent Company's main growing facility in San Jose, California in small batches to maintain quality. According to the website, the flower used in Monogram products is selected by a board of “cannabis experts” in charge of manually sorting and selecting each flower that goes into the line.

The New York rapper joined Caliva in 2019 as a brand strategist, which entailed overseeing the company's creative direction. Additionally, Jay-Z was focused on Caliva's social equity efforts as he sought to increase the economic participation of people harmed by the cannabis ban in the new legal industry. Products include various cannabis cultivars designated as light, medium and heavy, available in pre-rolled cigarettes or cans of dried flowers.

In a statement, Jay-Z shared his vision for the Monogram brand: “Cannabis has been around for thousands of years, but it is still an industry whose artisanal legacy is often overlooked. I created Monogram to give cannabis the respect it deserves, showing the tremendous work, time and care it takes to create superior “smoke”. Monogram products are the next level when it comes to quality and consistency and we are just getting started.”

Jay-Z, also known for being the husband of singer Beyoncé, thus joins a growing list of artists and celebrities who are investing in the cannabis industry, such as the fighter Mike Tyson, Seattle SuperSonics player Shawn Kemp, hip-hop artist Jim Jones or Canadian rapper Drake, among others.