Jay-Z may be best known for his raps, for his various business ventures, and for being Beyoncé’s husband. However, today, he’s putting on his “investor” hat.
The Brooklyn-born Shawn Corey Carter has started an investment fund — totalling $10 million — that, he says, will help budding entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry. Specifically, he says, these funds are earmarked for Black men and women who are, statistically, shut out of the “legal” pot market.
“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 The Wall Street Journal. “I wanted to do something in a real, concrete way, where I do my part.”
The fund, itself, was formed thanks to what’s known as a “blank check” deal from Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp. This blank check deal allowed the “Big Pimpin'” rapper to acquire two companies — Left Coast Ventures and CMG Partners — and this “joint venture” of sorts is who will be providing the funding to interested Black-owned cannabis companies.
Further, according to the press release announcing the fund, each company will receive $1 million — which means that Jay-Z, through this acquisition company, will be investing in 10 different cannabis companies.
While Hova, himself, has joined the exploding weed fray — thanks to his recently-announced top-shelf pot company known as Monogram — this latest announcement shows that he’s actually looking to help other bud-preneurs, as well.
