Over 20 years ago, Shawn Carter left the drug game with lofty aspirations and the mind of a hustler. He founded a record label that became legendary not only as a name, but as a hand signal.

His bars are epic. His swag is unquestionable. He smashed and married one of the most beautiful women on the planet. He has 3 children and a stable family life. His name is literally translated as God. And a few weeks ago, he became hip hop’s first billionaire.

But a true hustler never leaves the game. He simply levels up. Fast forward 20 years later, the God MC returns to the game; not as an emcee, but as a brand ambassador for CALIVA, a legal cannabis company in San Jose. California. Founded in 2015, CALIVA grows and sells marijuana and related products.

HOV will enter into a “multi-year partnership” serving primarily in the areas of strategy and outreach. He is also taking the bold step of bringing those formerly incarcerated for drug related offenses back into the cannabis market either as employees; or distributors.

Many black men, incarcerated as a result of the fictitious War on Drugs, have found themselves locked out of the most lucrative drug racket in the past 50 years. It is estimated that the medical cannabis industry will grow to be a 7 billion dollar industry in the next 5 years.

Unsurprisingly, new legislation legalizing medicinal cannabis prevents those formerly convicted of drug offenses from participating in the industry. This industry also requires exorbitant investments just to become a licensed dispensary; to say nothing of actual sale and distribution.

It is a delicious irony that a young black man who once sold crack cocaine on the corners of Urban America is now poised to become a strategist for the sale and distribution of another Schedule I Drug on the federal narcotics registry. It is even more karmically enviable that he is one of the wealthiest men in the country.

Jay-Z once said that he was sticking up the record labels for what they did to Cold Crush (a legendary rap group from the Bronx). But now, some 30 years later, Jigga is legally sticking up the American order for what it has done to millions of his peers through a sinister conspiracy, orchestrated by a whimsical slogan of “JUST SAY NO!”

TONY MACEO is a Senior Blogger for the Negromanosphere. Like and share the articles. Support by paypal @wayofstrategy44@gmail.com or on Patreon @ Powerofstrategies