High Folks: K CAMP’s Hot, Rare Approach To The Cannabis Industry

Shining like the Black Sun, K CAMP is the center of attention in the visuals for his latest single Lottery. Throughout the video, he invites us to keep our eyes on him, while a group of hip-hop dancers amplify the vibrations that accompany the hard thump, bounce, and click of the track. “Lottery” is the first single released off of Wayy 2 Kritical, the rapper’s latest project with his in-house producer Bobby Kritcal, and it is only an introduction to the heatwave of energy surrounding the artist slash entrepreneur at this time in his career. 

K CAMP was raised in Northside Atlanta and has that recognizable “ATAlien” hunger to be bigger than life. He has had to shift his focus a lot since he first stepped on the Atlanta music scene back in 2009, and he has a new approach to life: learn the business of everything inside and out.

“I’m not the same K CAMP I was […] I’m more in my entrepreneurial artist lane,” he says. “It’s my duty to turn up for the whole team. We’re the black sheep. We’ve been in our own little world, but people look at the outcasts for influence. We like it. We’ve got our own fans, our own shit, and our own sound. With Wayy 2 Kritical, we’re standing on our tiptoes to clear the competition.”

The CEO of the RARE Sound music label isn’t just here to collaborate and add pressure to the rap music scene; he’s making a name for himself in the cannabis industry as well. He has partnered with Timeless Vapes to create the RARE Limited Edition Vaporizer and Battery Combination Pack for his fans who enjoy good weed and dope aesthetics.

“The creative process was really dope when creating this pen,” K CAMP exclaims with a deep, cool southern twang. “I wanted to create something upscale like a piece of art […] that my fans could really appreciate.” 

The vaporizer is minimalist, with a white and peach design paired with a black and grey flip case. According to Ryan Downing Manager of Collaborations at Timeless Vapes, collaborating with K CAMP only made sense. “Timeless has been a fan of K CAMP’s music, branding, and lifestyle for some time. We all decided it was time to link up and make this happen. Timeless Vapes is a lifestyle brand and K CAMP fit that mold perfectly for this collaboration,” says Downing. 

The company also has collections with rappers 2 Chainz and Dizzy Wright. 

When he first started indulging in cannabis, it was just for experiential purposes, but as he has gotten older and wiser, everything he does is a lot more intentional.

“I feel like I was the last one out of my partners to start smoking,” K CAMP shares with High Times. “I started smoking in high school at my partners trap house. They used to always smoke, [while] I just wanted to [play] NBA 2K. When I did hit my first blunt, I was laughing and geekin’ out of control. I finally got [used] to it, and I’ve been smoking ever since.” 

Once K CAMP started to build his own relationship with the plant, he became conscious of cannabis’ power to cultivate community, joy, and individuality, which are ideals that he advocates for through his music and business ventures.

“A lot of people beef [about] stupid shit, [but] weed calms your nerves, [it] helps you think a little bit, [and it] helps you get a little more creative,” he says.

“Cannabis directly helps create happier moments creatively and spiritually, so it’s definitely important for these low-income black communities to have access to the same cannabis being offered in suburban and trendy urban areas,” said K CAMP. “ At the end of the day, it’s the same with food. You don’t want to be putting stuff in your body that doesn’t meet a certain standard.” 

Recently, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize the sale and use of recreational cannabis. The state plans to expunge and pardon 800,000 residents with small non-violent cannabis charges and create social equity programs that prioritize individuals from low-income black communities that have been disproportionately affected by anti-cannabis legislation.

But in states like Georgia, where cannabis is only medicinal (low-THC oils), some lawmakers remain ignorant and forbidding about how the war on drugs has poorly affected black communities. A January 2019  report by the Drug Policy Alliance showed that in 2017, 73% of marijuana charges were handed out to blacks living in the state. 

“With drug laws having affected urban communities the hardest, I [want to] create a whole brand that can give back to those communities directly impacted by these archaic laws.  And I’m lucky enough to have great partners and a supportive team around me to really build the foundation for that,” says K CAMP.

ONLYONETWO, a ghostwriter, cannabis enthusiast, and the creative director for comedian, actor, and artist Spoken Reasons, says that the cannabis industry needs more African-Americans, like K CAMP, taking stake and ownership in the industry. “As long as he’s knowledgeable and producing clean [products] I’m all for it,” he shared via text.

K CAMP is in rare form, and he wants the world to understand that his vitality and uniqueness are unmatched, and he’s only going to shine brighter.

“I want you to say, ‘K CAMP is one of the greatest to ever do it’,” he leaves off. “They slept on us for so long, but we still come out on top. They said I wasn’t going to do it; now it’s bigger than life. I want to set an example as an artist and a businessman. I’m not afraid to push boundaries or speak what I feel. I just hope you think, ‘Damn, I want to do it like K CAMP did it’.”