Jay-Z joined the growing ranks of celebrities in the cannabis space via the high-end Monogram brand, coupled with endorsements from his creative and artistic peers. Now, it’s being reported that Jay-Z’s brand, initially boasting $575 million in funds, has blown through the cash and can’t even be found in stores in dispensaries where advertised online.
In a report from SFGate, Jay-Z, birth name Shawn Carter, joined the cannabis space in 2020 with Monogram, and it came replete with the level of class and luxury expected of anything Hov puts his name on. Boasting a quartet of strains and pre-roll packages, Monogram was believed to be one of the major players, considering its top pitchman’s success in business.
Fast forward to 2024 and it doesn’t appear that the brand ever got its footing. illustrating this point, any potential buyer of Monogram wouldn’t be able to as none of its listed partner dispensaries in California and Arizona carried the product.
The outlet spoke with Seth Yakatan, an investor and adviser who worked with the California legal cannabis sector, and said that Monogram’s parent company, The Parent Company (TPCO), spent high amounts of cash which is evidenced by its seven-part video series featuring Jadakiss, Tinashe, Curren$y, 2 Chainz, and Chika among others.
Monogram was formed on the back of an investment round raised by The Parent Company, which consists of three cannabis businesses with TPCO going public in 2020 via a special-purpose acquisition company which SFGate explained as a fundraising method that fast-tracked a huge haul of cash. In all, TPCO oversaw 20 cannabis retail brands, several grow houses — places where cannabis is grown — and retail stores based in California.
Much of Monogram’s success was based on market projections made by TPCO and was expected to rake in $334 million after announcing the launch. However, as the story notes, California’s competitive market had to compete against itself amid high taxation, falling wholesale prices, and even illegal cannabis sales thus causing many businesses to close up shop.
SFGate also reports that Monogram is no longer in business with TPCO, with the split reportedly taking place two years ago. Monogram is now owned by an LLC connected to the Gold Flora brand, which absorbed TPCO’s business thus making them a minority owner.
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Photo: Getty
