Screengrab of Superbad Inc.’s website announcing launch of Lil Kim’s Aphrodisiak.
Kimberly Denise Jones is famously known as the Grammy award-winning female rap icon, Lil Kim. She is finalizing her cannabis brand, Aphrodisiak, for release in 2022. The artist is partnering with California-based grow operation Superbad Inc. to produce a line of cannabis that mirrors her lavish aesthetic.
Long before Lil Kim entered the evolving world of recreational cannabis, she was known for being a fashionista who elevated the female rap game. Early on in her career, she established herself as an explicitly feminine songwriter in a society that had yet to embrace female sexuality. By 1996, her album, Hard Core, went double platinum. It also broke the record for being the highest debut album for a female rapper on the Billboard 200 chart, according to CampNova.
Lil Kim poses on the red carpet at the BET awards. Photograph from @lilkimthequeenbee on Instagram.
From Rap Icon to Cannabis “Queen Bee”
Now, Lil Kim founded Aphrodisiak to translate her tenacity as a rapper into a cannabis line that encourages women of color to make their mark in the cannabis industry.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Lil Kim hopes to make her line available to her home state. It will also be available in California, New Jersey and Michigan. A hustler at heart, Lil Kim tells Forbes that her vision for Aphrodisiak is to celebrate the hustle. While using cannabis to embrace relaxation.
On October 22nd, while at the MJBizCon in Las Vegas, Lil Kim announced she would use her years of experience as a cannabis connoisseur to carefully craft her own cannabis brand. Two and a half years in the making, Aphrodisiak will launch in the first quarter of next year, she told Forbes.
Lil Kim’s Partnerships
Carlos Dew, founder and CEO of culturally-driven cannabis company Superbad Inc., is working with Lil Kim. Together, they are creating a potent and pesticide-free line of strains that emulate her unique preferences when it comes to cannabis genetics. Lil Kim explains that collaborating with Dew is the ultimate partnership. They both share the desire to empower women to embrace their inner baddie.
“They are, in my opinion, the best. I’ve come across a few companies, and I thought, ‘wow, this is really a match made in heaven.’ I mean look at the name, Superbad Inc., that’s me all day. I’m the First Lady Bad Girl,” Lil Kim tells Forbes at MJBizCon.
Additionally, Dew also explains to Forbes, “superbad means that moment when you see someone walking down the street and think, ‘Dang, she’s BAD.’ That’s Kim, a superBADDIE.”
Therefore, Superbad Inc. revels in Lil Kim’s unapologetic identity which constitutes an incomparable partnership. CannabisNow writes, “her partnership with Superbad inc. is entirely consistent with her life’s passion of inclusivity and impacting change for women and girls.”
Specifically, she’s doing so by launching a cannabis line as a Black woman in a white-male dominated industry.
Additionally, lifestyle technology platform, CampNova, is working alongside Lil Kim to help distribute the product by delivery. Many know CampNova for their celebrity brands, including brands by 2 Chainz, Santana, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Mike Tyson and more. Not only does CampNova cater to clientele who consume celebrity cannabis brands; but they also provide promotional media coverage.
“In essence, [CampNova co-founder Emery] Morrison stated that the platform functions like a combination of UberEats, Fashion Nova and Weedmaps, offering customers access to in-demand products through tiered membership,” reports High Times. “Customers can use the service for free or subscribe to monthly paid tiers for discounts and bonuses.”
The Cannabis Come Up
With a team of like-minded entrepreneurs to support Lil Kim, Aphrodisiak may be more than a cannabis brand. It will also incorporate elements of fashion in order to convey her creative spirit, she tells Forbes. Although the release date is not set in stone yet, Lil Kim does not intend to rush the process; but rather to take her time as she plans to roll out her products in phases.
Furthermore, Aphrodisiak can be interpreted as Lil Kim’s and cannabis’ lovechild. She remains conscious of the delicate balance between her personal idea of success and the inevitable profit.
Lil Kim explains to CannabisNow, “everyone would look at making a lot of money as being successful. But, for me, that doesn’t necessarily determine success. Someone can rob a bank and have a lot of money, right? My thing is the steps you take to become successful.”
Aphrodisiak is an Agent for Authenticity
Her utmost concern is how her brand channels her personal style and how that translates to consumers.
“… She opted to partner with Superbad after determining the brand was ‘sophisticated, classy and well-thought-out,’” reports High Times. “She added that she didn’t intend to slap her name on a brand, a move that often seems to be the case with specific celebrity endorsers.”
Lil Kim has built her career on authenticity. As a cannabis consumer herself, she will sample each strain to ensure that consumers will have access to high-quality, Lil Kim-approved cannabis.
She tells Forbes, “I’ve always been the type of person who will try it out. I test my product. I tested this and I was like ‘Oh yeah, this is that gas.’”
Likewise, it’ll be no surprise if the hip-hop legend’s taste in cannabis is equal to her talent as a rapper. After dominating the music industry by selling 15 million albums and 30 million singles across the globe, she aims for Aphrodisiak to inspire women of color to claim their space in the world of cannabis.
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