JAY-Z has launched a $10 million fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis companies. The rap mogul, who recently launched his own cannabis brand, spoke with Wall Street Journal about specifically fostering Black ownership in the flourishing industry.
“We were the ones most negatively affected by the war on drugs, and America has turned around and created a business from it that’s worth billions,” JAY told the outlet. “It’s not a spreadsheet; it’s real people.”
“I wanted to do something in a real, concrete way, where I do my part,” he added.
To take those steps, Hov has partnered with The Parent Company — a merged venture that started with the acquisition of two California-based weed firms, Left Coast Ventures and Caliva, by Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp.
According to a press release, The Parent Company launched the “Social Equity Ventures” fund with $10 million and plans to add at least 2 percent of its net income to the fund every year. With JAY’s inclusion, the fund will invest up to $1 million in selected cannabis startups. Hov will co-run the fund along with his Roc Nation CEO, Desiree Perez.
JAY launched his cannabis brand, MONOGRAM, in October. At the time, a press release noted that the company hopes to “redefine what cannabis means” and create a “new chapter in cannabis defined by dignity, care and consistency.”
The Grammy Award winner has also made other social justice reform strides through Roc Nation’s philanthropic arm, Team Roc, and his REFORM Alliance. Last fall, JAY and REFORM celebrated a legal victory in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill aimed at probation reform.
“I want to thank Gov. Newsom for his leadership in signing AB1950 — the most transformative probation bill in this country to date,” JAY-Z said about the bill. “This is a first step that I hope introduces a wave of much needed change throughout the country.”