Jay-Z joined the growing ranks of high-end cannabis celebrities Monogram brand, coupled with endorsements from his creative and artistic peers. Now, it's being reported that Jay-Z's brand, initially worth $575 million, has run out of cash and can't even be found in dispensary stores where it's advertised online.
In a report by SFGateJay-Z, born Shawn Carter, entered the cannabis space in 2020 with Monogram and was filled with the level of class and luxury expected of anything Hov puts out. With a quartet of packs and pre-roll packs, Monogram is believed to be one of the major players considering the success of its top player in the business.
Fast forward to 2024 and it doesn't look like the brand ever found its footing. making this point, any potential purchaser of Monogram would be unable to do so, as none of the listed partner pharmacies in California and Arizona carried the product.
The agency spoke with Seth Yakatan, an investor and consultant who has worked with the legal cannabis sector in California, and he said Monogram's parent company, The Parent Company (TPCO), spent large sums of cash, evidenced by the series of videos seven-piece featuring Jadakiss, Tinashe, Curren$y, 2 Chainz and Chika among others.
Monogram was created on the back of an investment round raised by the parent company, which consists of three cannabis businesses with TPCO set to go public in 2020 through a special purpose buyout company that SFGate explained as a fundraising method that quickly recorded a huge collection of cash. In all, TPCO oversaw 20 commercial cannabis retail brands, several grow houses — places where cannabis is grown — and California-based retail stores.
Much of Monogram's success was based on market projections made by TPCO, and it was expected to gross $334 million after the launch was announced. However, as the story notes, California's competitive market has had to compete against itself amid high taxes, falling wholesale prices and even illegal cannabis sales, causing many businesses to close up shop.
SFGate also reports that Monogram is no longer working with TPCO, with the split taking place two years ago. Monogram is now owned by an LLC associated with the Gold Flora brand, which absorbed TPCO's operations, making it a minority shareholder.
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Photo: Getty
