“It was all a dream.” So begins Notorious B.I.G.’s mega smash hit “Juicy,” but now his son CJ Wallace is bringing some of those dreams into reality. This week Wallace announced he’s launching a cannabis company in honor of his late father called Think Big, and revealed why he’s becoming an advocate for cannabis legalization.
Think Big—which Wallace founded along with his stepfather, music executive Todd Russaw and entrepreneur Willie Mack—will release cannabis products like pre-roll joints, gummies, vapes, apparel, and more. The company’s products will focus on marijuana’s ability to inspire “creativity, contemplation, and healing.”
Their first product, made in collaboration with Lowell Herb Co., is The Frank White Creative Blend pre-roll pack, inspired by Biggie’s alternate mafioso ego, Frank White.
RELATED: Why The US Will Never Elect Another Anti-Marijuana President
“I’ve always been inspired by my dad and his alter-ego, by the ghostly figure of Frank White,” Wallace told Esquire. “I’ve always wanted to play with that, and this was my chance to do it. A lot of people don’t really know this, but my dad actually went to jail a few times. His longest stint was about nine months. And that’s when he made his decision to take his writing, his craft more seriously.”
Wallace also talked about growing up around the music industry (his mother is Faith Evans), and seeing artists like Usher, 112, and Whitney Houston in his house.
“We had this dope studio in the basement, and me and my brother and my sister, we were music heads,” Wallace said. “We were a musical family. We just loved being around that whole process. And cannabis was always part of the process.”
RELATED: ‘Sit Back And Smoke Gelato’: Rappers Love Rapping About These Marijuana Strains
But Wallace was also careful in rolling out his new venture, wary of all the new cannabis companies and brands looking to cash in quick in the nascent industry. Wallace, along with his cofounders, believe that marijuana companies also have a responsibility to fighting for cannabis reform and expungement efforts. The companies who don’t participate are hurting the rest of the industry more than helping it.
“We talk about this almost every day now. Just every other brand that’s out there, if they don’t have a criminal justice angle, they’re doing a huge disservice to everybody,” he said. “Everybody has, or should have, a responsibility to speak on that and do as much as they can to correct those wrongs.”
