Last weekend the heavy hitters of the cannabis industry were joined by rap legends Kurupt and DJ Cell of Tha Dogg Pound plus Masta Killa, Cappadonna and Prodigal Sunn (Wu-Tang Clan) at the Harvest Ball festivities for the longest running cannabis event ever, the Emerald Cup.
This special show was curated by Black Market Group, a cannabis organization pushing for equity and creativity in the industry. The Emerald Cup has been taking place since 2003, and as cannabis policy has evolved and changed from all-underground, to allowed medical use, to legalized recreational use in so many states, the Cup has changed and grown. This year the Black Market Group created an important dialogue about how the culture and practices of the industry can support and respect its pioneers, many of whom have suffered the consequences of old, unfair laws that have since been ended.
The Kurupt & Friends show took fans higher than ever as this epic line up rocked the stage. The music, the crowd and the energy was like nothing this event has seen before. The performance came together from the vision of many late night conversations between Black Market Group (BMG) and OGs like Kurupt. "I just want to go up there and say thank you [to the original cultivators and growers]," expressed Kurupt during these talks. "They've made chronic what it is..."
The BMG organization seeks to preserve these legacy farms, the grower families who forged the foundation for the vibrant cannabis industry that we see today. As things in the cannabis world become more corporate, many of these trail blazers are being put out of business (and some are even still dealing with incarceration or its consequences).
"Small farm operators and people of color in the supply chain are being systematically removed from the industry since legalization," explains Annick Goldsmith of BMG, "the people who took on a lot of risk to build this industry are being pushed out...Black Market Certified cannabis means living wage jobs, people of color in the supply chain and support for small businesses; we're preserving the good aspects of the 'black market' era of cannabis, pre-legalization." A portion of the BMG booth sales also benefitted The Last Prisoner Project, an organization that provides legal services for people who are currently incarcerated for nonviolent cannabis crimes.
source: EchoingSoundz