JAY-Z is Investing Millions into Minority-Owned Cannabis Startups

The rap mogul established a $10 million fund to increase minority participation in the booming cannabis industry.

Fresh off the launch of his own cannabis company, JAY-Z is already clearing the path for entrepreneurs in marginalized communities to join him in a rapidly expanding legal market.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Roc Nation founder is creating a $10 million fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis startups. The fund was established in the acquisition of two major cannabis operations in California, CMG Partners and Left Coast Ventures, by Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp. The newly forged entity is now called The Parent Company and is allocating seed money for their Social Equity Ventures fund, investing an additional two percent of net annual income into the fund. Selected startups will receive up to $1 million from The Parent Company's Social Equity Ventures fund.

"This is an incredible time for this industry. The end of cannabis prohibition is here, and The Parent Company will lead the charge to a more expansive and inclusive cannabis industry," the mogul said in a press release for the merger. "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," Hov added in a statement to the WSJ.

Last year, JAY-Z marked his entry into the cannibus business with the launch of his high-end Monogram line. Products include individual and packs of hand-rolled joints, as well as four loose strains of cannabis flower sold in 1g, 2g, and 4g containers. Each flower and joint is "hand-selected" and "hand-finished" by Monogram’s Culture and Activation ambassador, DeAndre ‘De’ Watson. You can look over the full menu of Monogram products here.