Jay-Z Launches Fund For Minority-Owned Cannabis Businesses

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Jay-Z announces his plans to further invest in Black and Brown-owned cannabis businesses.

Cannabis has certainly lost a lot of the stigma that was attached to it a decade ago. More dispensaries are popping up as more states decide to legalize the plant for recreational use, allowing safer access and more jobs. With that in mind, the communities that have been affected most by the war on drugs also haven't been allowed their fair share of the industry. So, Jay-Z is putting his money where his mouth is and launching a fund to help minority-owned cannabis businesses, per WSJ.

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The new fund arrives after the acquisition of Left Coast Ventures and VMG Partners by Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp. The two companies have now been merged under the name The Parent Company and are taking $10M from their seed money acquired by Jay to launch the Social Equity Ventures Fund. The new fund will work towards promoting Black-owned cannabis ventures to combat the efforts of America's War On Drugs.

"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-Z said to WSJ. "I wanted to do something in a real, concrete way, where I do my part." 

For more on hip-hop's relationship with the cannabis industry, read, "All The Smoke: Hip Hop’s Capital In The Multibillion Dollar Cannabis Industry."


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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