California cannabis company Caliva has added Jay-Z as its chief brand strategist, Rolling Stone reports. A large part of his role includes social justice issues surrounding cannabis legalization and he will also help the company with creative decisions, including outreach efforts and strategy.
Jay-Z’s social justice efforts will include “advocacy, job training and overall employee and workforce development” for previously incarcerated people seeking to enter the cannabis space, according to the report.
“Anything I do, I want to do correctly and at the highest level. 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, in a statement, via Rolling Stone
According to the report, Jay-Z approached Caliva, which CEO Dennis O’Malley called “humbling.”
“To find that we were in complete alignment around our values and ethos was just a home run,” O’Malley said in a statement. “We believe this partnership is unparalleled in this or any business and we could not be more pleased to be working with him and have him as our Chief Brand Strategist.”
While Jay-Z is not launching a brand, he is the latest rapper to enter the cannabis industry. Snoop Dogg launched Leafs by Snoop in 2015; 2 Chainz formed the Gas Cannabis Co. last year; Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Freddie Gibbs each have their own strains; and B-Real of Cypress Hill opened a dispensary in California in 2018.
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