Hip-hop legend B-Real is dropping his first-ever line of flower on March 28 at Dr. Greenthumb’s and Cookies dispensaries. We chatted with the Cypress Hill rapper about how his career led to a love of cannabis, the story behind his new strain, his selection process and more. Read on to get inside the mind of B-Real.
What inspired you to start this line of flower, and why is cannabis important to you?
Dr. Greenthumb’s goes back to a time when the only people around cannabis were the ones who loved it, or perhaps trying to lock you up for it. So much has changed over the years. I just wanted to do something that I knew was going to bring the mindset back to the late 90s or early 2000s. I just think that for so many of us, that was the heart; those are the days when we talked about weed being legal, like really legal, across the country and just not even really believing it was gonna happen.
And now, here we are, and so many of those people are washed up already, run over with taxes or regulations or just the investment needed. For better or worse, this is what legalization looks like, at least right now, and I guess I just feel like what people want are those days gone by. At the same time, there are a lot of people out there just getting access and still learning, and the right thing to do when there’s a new person is to invite them into the smoke circle. But, you teach them the culture, you share what’s important. I think that’s what I’m trying to do here. I want to point out what’s important in our history and our culture.
What was your process like selecting strains and genetics?
Man, that’s always the fun part, right? You know, my team, they do a great job; my man Kenji has been in the game since forever. He’s out looking for those farms, those dope spots done right by the people who should be here, who should be winning in this new legal world. When he finds them, then I get samples. Really, it’s like it always has been. The sight, the smell, feeling the bud, rolling it up, that whole experience. And then, of course smoking. The flavor and high. When it’s the good stuff you know, that’s what we’re looking to highlight.
What is your favorite strain, and why?
OG Kush—I mean, hey, a legend is a legend for a reason. It’s the whole package.
What do you want the future of your line to look like, and what are your goals?
You know, the future of my line is the future of legacy cannabis. What do WE want it to look like? Do we want it all exotic? Do we want it back in the kush days, or even the pre-kush days? I’m not trying to be the one voice telling people what they should like or what cannabis should be. That’s not really it. I’m more like trying to provide the open-mic night, the forum and the stage, so these guys, and gals, can show the world how they are holding it down.
I want to make sure that when we look out 10 or 20 years from now, and this industry is just commonplace, we don’t just have a bunch of Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs. I want the heart to still be there; I want us to be happy we won, that we got weed legalized. I don’t want us wishing we had just kept it illegal because we all lost. Fuck that.
Why is cannabis advocacy important to you, and what do you do to support it?
Cannabis has always been there. I never felt there was anything wrong with it. You know, recently I was reminded by a longtime friend of mine, Jdee, that back in the early ’90s, he tried to put me on a malt liquor 40oz commercial payday. He reminded me that back then I told him that I didn’t care about alcohol, that I wasn’t giving a shit about people drinking malt 40s.
Apparently I told him that I was trying to legalize weed. I believe it, because as far as I can remember, that’s been how I’ve felt. I try to lend my voice where I can. I’ve never been afraid to be open about it. I just try to keep the topic in front of people, do my best to support the culture. That sort of thing.
Do you have any upcoming music announcements or other projects you’d like to plug?
Yeah for sure, the new Cypress Hill Album is called Back in Black, and it dropped on March 18. We’re going on tour; it’s gonna be a great show for sure. Also, I dropped a solo album not too long ago called Tell You Somethin; definitely peep that, worked with Scott Storch on that one.
First ever flower line?? He already has Insane. So strange that it wasn’t even mentioned.
I just tried Insane OG from DR. Greenthumb last week
totally bunk, I was so disappointed. $50 down the drain it didn’t do anything, I bought a bargain OG kush that worked way better. STAY AWAY FROM DR GREENTHUMB BRAND WEED IT IS CRAP!!!!
Actually that will be my last visit to DR Greenthumb in Cathedral City, The budtenders point you to old weed they need to get rid of, instead good weed to satisfy the customer.