Rapper Berner has made a name for himself with his Cookies dispensaries in California. Now he's helping Killer Mike and his group Run the Jewels (RTJ) get into the canna-business.
On July 27, the collaboration was announced:
"This potent partnership between Berner, the Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur who built Cookies into one of the largest cannabis brands in the world, RTJ rapper Killer Mike, and rapper-producer El-P developed organically, stemming from a longstanding mutual admiration and a shared passion for music, cannabis and advocacy."
The first RTJ strain as part of Berner's Lemonnade collection is Ooh La La, named for a new song (watch below) on Run the Jewels' latest album, RTJ4. It's described thusly:
"The hybrid strain delivers a sensory-heightening head high and a light body feel. Ooh La La merges Lemonnade's sativa focus with Killer Mike and El-P's indica appreciation for the ideal hybrid strain with an aroma of spice cake and frosting and flavor of sweet fruit cake with an herbal tea chaser."
El-P is also a member of Run the Jewels. Their last three albums have charted in the Top 50.
"Killer Mike and El-P are legit cannabis enthusiasts," Berner noted. "Every time I see Mike, we get high together. Him and I go back more than a decade, and I've always felt we could open a new dimension in cannabis, After working with him on The White Album (2011), I knew we'd have to collaborate again. I have a lot of respect for RTJ's work ethic. Creating the Run the Jewels brand is a natural progression."
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RTJs chimed in:
• Killer Mike: "Berner is a longtime friend and we have watched him build his empire."
• El-P: "We have huge respect for Berner and what he's accomplished and we fucking love weed so this is very exciting for us."
The press release goes on to say:
"In addition to top-shelf flower, the Run the Jewels line includes pre-rolls, vapes, extracts and blunts. The full line of Ooh La La products is coming soon at Cookie dispensaries throughout California, including locations in Merced, Modesto, La Mesa, San Diego, Oakland, Redding and Hayward (coming soon), as well as the Lemonnade retail store in Sacramento. The full line is also available in Detroit at the Cookies store operated by Gage Cannabis Co. Ooh La La flower and pre-rolls will drop in additional dispensaries across Washington (Hash Agency), Colorado (Veritas Fine Cannabis), Oregon (Electraleaf), Arizona and Illinois later this year."
"That's what you call a serious roll out.
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After the Cookies store in Los Angeles was looted on May 31, Berner stated:
"It's extremely unfortunate what happened to our store tonight on Melrose. But as a human living in the world today I can't expect anything less until justice is served. We can rebuild our store but you can't bring someone back to life. With that being said, we stand with what's going on in the world, A statement needed to be made. I pray everyone stays safe and protects their family in a time like this. How can I worry about a store when there's so much happening in the world right now? So much hate, so much anger, so much pain and a lack of justice. Please take care of your families and stay safe."
Berner's latest musical colloboration with Cypress Hill frontman B-Real, Los Meros, was released in April.
