"Now who told him to sell joints $50" — Internet reacts to Jay-Z's luxury cannabis company struggling to stay afloat 4 years after being launched
Cannabis company Caliva partnered with Jay-Z to form Monogram in 2020. The company was initially expected to be a huge deal after having a fancy debut. However, according to a report by The Mail, it didn't seem to be in good shape.
The outlet reported that according to the official Monogram website, about nine of their retailers across Arizona and California are listed there. However, none of them seemingly had the joints endorsed by the 54-year-old rapper on their online menus. Many claimed over time, that the items listed on Jay-Z's brand were too overpriced for the quality they offered.
The Parent Company, which is the conglomerate behind the business, is also seemingly not in good shape after reportedly burning about $575 million in launch cash. It has further merged into another company, as per reports by The Mail.
Recently, netizens have reacted after reports of Monogram struggling in the pot business as well as the high price of joints, have come up. A user wrote on X:
"Now who told him to sell joints $50."
More social media users chimed in, saying:
"They were charging $65 for an eighth of mid. Hov my goat but let’s be real," added a tweet.
"Another flop venture 🤣🤣🤣," joked a netizen.
A lot of others also commented on the allegedly overpriced joints that the rapper's brand had been trying to sell. A netizen tweeted:
"$50 a joint? Brother is trying to rob," declared another one.
"$50 for one joint is wild 😂," wrote a user.
Jay-Z's Monogram has previously been slapped with legal charges
While Monogram has been making headlines for reportedly not doing great in business, it had been under scrutiny last year too. A lawsuit was filed against Monogram claiming that there had been gender discrimination.
In the lawsuit filed in February 2023, by Cathi Clay, the former VP of The Parent Company, Monogram was also accused of illegally shipping pot to New York from California. Clay claimed that she was wrongfully fired post filing a whistleblower report, as reported by The Mail last year.
As for the downfall of Monogram, experts in the field didn't seem too surprised, as reported by SFGate. Industry veteran Seth Yakatan, who is a well-known cannabis investor told the outlet that the products sold by Monogram couldn't live up to the hype that was created during Jay-Z's company's launch four years back. Yakatan further added:
"Like many other things we’ve seen in cannabis surrounding rappers, the hype hasn’t met the reality. Monogram was supposed to be an ultra-premium product, and I don’t know anyone who tried it and thought it was anything more than mid-tier."
Yakatan also shed light on how The Parent Company spent so much money over a short period, leading to no significant benefits. The outlets later reached out to representatives for Monogram, however, no response has been received as of now.
