Smoke DZA is one of the most titular names in the realm of stoner-rap. Serving as one of the founding members of the iconic The Smokers Club tour and festival, the rapper is one of the first to make cannabis a marketable entity within the rap arena. Last week, BagFuel co-hosts Hynaken and ESSO sat down with Minnesota newcomer BandUpSick on the HNHH hosted podcast to discuss his recent move to Los Angeles to further his rap career. On the latest episode of BagFuel, the co-hosts sit down with The Kushed God himself to discuss how he managed to monetize cannabis culture in rap music.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
The trio launch into a discussion about the authenticity of some weed-centric rappers in the game that came after Smoke DZA and The Smokers Club era. BagFuel co-host ESSO then poses the question about where the idea to launch The Smokers Club brand and effectively monetize weed-smoking within rap culture originated from.
“Well, the idea of The Smokers Club came from, well sh*t man,” he began. “The Smokers Club always existed for me before it ever existed, you know what I mean? How it started? As far as it got commercialized.”
He went on to explain, “The idea came from us being together. Now, we knew we could do it once we executed it. Our first show, it was a premature show it was at SXSW. Late 2009. Before we actually went on the road. It was the first Smokers Club show, that’s how it was. The headline was Devin da Dude, the underdogs was me, Wiz, Spitta, kid named KDot who ended up being Kendrick Lamar, it was a lot, everybody that was somebody on the block performed at that show. The success of that led to the belief that we could take it on the road, you know what I mean, really make it a brand.”
As you may know, they indeed did go on to make it a brand, embarking on multiple tours and festivals since 2010 and selling merch from their site.
Check out the full podcast episode with Smoke DZA above and let us know what you think.