On January 1, 2020 the state of Illinois became the 11th state in America to allow the recreational sale of marijuana. Nealy, two and a half years later, Chicago-based rapper Vic Mensa has capitalized on the legislation with a venture called 93 Boyz; the first Black-owned cannabis firm in the entire state of Illinois. In the past, Mensa has been very public in his desire to uplift his community with education and employment opportunities while also speaking out against gang violence. Therefore, his new company embarked on several initiatives to better the community, such as providing prisoners with more resources and updated reading materials.
“Selling weed was my first hustle. It taught me work ethic, entrepreneurship, and funded all of my first music projects,” Vic Mensa said. “As someone with a lifelong experience of anxiety and depression, it’s amazing to be able to help people facing those and other issues while working with something I love. The war on drugs has had a devastating impact on my community, and yet our representation in the cannabis industry is less than 2%. 93BOYZ is changing that narrative while combining high quality, tastemaker weed with socially conscious initiatives."
Source: The Source
