Vic Mensa Launches Illinois' First Black-Owned-And-Led Adult-Use Cannabis Company

Forbes reports that the Chicago rapper has launched 93 Boyz — his own legal, equity-focused cannabis company. At first, his music career was his main focus. But, now, Mensa is tapping into how his other love can support others.

“I’ve been involved with cannabis for most of my life, dating all the way back to age 11 when I first started smoking,” Mensa shared, according to the outlet. “Around age 15 I started selling cannabis and smoking less, for entrepreneurial reasons, as well as this being the time in my life when I first started to experience acute anxiety and was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.”

According to Mensa, 93 Boyz is the first “first Black-owned-and-led adult-use cannabis company in the state of Illinois.” Established as an equity-focused venture for the underserved, the company aims to reinvest in communities and people who have been impacted by “the racist criminalization of cannabis.”

“At the core of the ethos of 93 Boyz is a socially minded spirit; portions of all of our proceeds go to giving back to the community,” he said. “The first program we’re starting with is called Books Before Bars; sending a large number of books into Cook County Jail. As an industry, I believe the tax revenue generated from cannabis should be used as reparations to the communities most impacted by the war on drugs – like literal cash payment reparations, subsidized housing, education, everything.”

As previously reported by AfroTech, the likes of Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz, and more have ventured into the cannabis industry.

“In many ways, hip-hop artists have carried the torch lit by the jazz musicians near the turn of the century, going from being many of the most recognizable supporters of cannabis to now being some of the biggest names in the legal industry,” he said.