From Managing Kanye West To Leading A Cannabis Company: Urban Aroma Taps John Monopoly As CEO

While Monopoly is new to Urban Aroma, he is not unique to one of the cultures where cannabis is most pervasive  — Hip-Hop. As a long-time leader in the music and marketing industries, Monopoly is one of the people responsible for managing Chicago rapper Kanye West.

Monopoly’s work portfolio extends to other artists like Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes and has been at the helm of developing entertainment and tech brands. With Monopoly in place, Urban Aroma hopes to leverage his extensive resume and knowledge to expand its mission and vision.

While a part of Kanye West’s management team, Monopoly met M-1, a member of Dead Prez and co-founder of Urban Aroma. After initially connecting off good vibes, the two stayed in contact. Urban Aroma entered the chat during one of their conversations, and the rest is history.

“I would always peek in on him and what he had going on, and vice versa. He told me about this project [Urban Aroma], and I was just intrigued, so we figured out a deal,” Monopoly told Boardroom. “Now I’m on the squad, and it’s been amazing!”

Beyond its work in advocacy and awareness, Urban Aroma is a “platform for cannabis, art, activism and social equity with editorial and charitable commitments,” according to its website. The company uses that platform to encourage creativity, particularly in New York.

“When you think about creative endeavors, it brings to mind the Summer Series program that we have with one of our partners, Legacy NYC, at 98 Orchard Street in New York City. You’re going to be seeing a lot of different activations, pop-ups, parties, and special events at that location for weeks to come,” Monopoly explained to Boardroom.

Since creativity is a part of Urban Aroma’s DNA, it makes sense why Monopoly would be a good fit as CEO. With over thirty years of experience in the music game, he admits he understands the need to hustle to make something happen.

“So my first thing that I bring from music to this business is my hustle, my grind, my relentless efforts to make whatever I gotta make happen by any means necessary,” Monopoly described to Boardroom. “I’ve worked on marketing and promoting, branding. Working on projects like that has taught me a lot of lessons that I bring to this space as well.”

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In terms of what the future holds for Urban Aroma, Monopoly is pointing everyone’s attention to the organization’s Summer Series with special guests and high-profile collaborations.

“We’re closing a deal to do an event with Mike Epps and to do something with his brand. We’re securing Styles P, [and] securing Statik Selektah, Rakim [with his brand The Higher Frequency], so we’re talking to a lot of exciting people in the space,” Monopoly told the outlet.