In America’s ever-accelerating rush to embrace legal weed, equity for Black victims of our failed war on drugs is too often overlooked, but hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy is fighting to change that.
Famed in the 1980s as a pioneering street artist (a peer of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring) and musical ambassador (the original host of Yo! MTV Raps), today Fab is a filmmaker, activist and cannabis entrepreneur. All those interests intersect in B Noble, his socially conscious premium cannabis brand. The brand is named in honor of Bernard Noble, a subject of Fab’s 2019 Netflix documentary Grass Is Greener who was incarcerated for 13 years over two joints worth of pot.
Recently, Fab visited Orlando to celebrate the launch of B Noble’s products at area Curaleaf dispensaries with a private party downtown at Mathers Social Gathering.
At over 30% THC, the Lady Madonna hybrid I sampled (courtesy of Curaleaf’s Semoran location) was the strongest and smoothest preroll I’ve smoked in Florida’s medical program; but more importantly, 10% of B Noble’s proceeds support local groups like GreenBook Academy, which aims to diversify the legal cannabis workforce through education.
While I sadly was unable to light one up with Fab (he’s still working on that FL MMJ card), we did enjoy an in-depth interview covering his influential arts career, the historical intersection of Black culture and prohibition, and his vision for Florida’s greener future.
What was the role of marijuana in 1980s NYC’s urban art scene?
It was cannabis on the creative scene — amongst Jean [Basquiat] and Keith [Haring] and I — ubiquitous, daily. More so than drinking, which we would do when we went to clubs if we could get drink tickets. Nobody had any money back then, so drinks were expensive, but we would chip in on a $5 bag or a $10 bag, whatever we could afford. And we would all smoke together and be creative and make art. There were tons of all other kinds of drugs, but the main thing that was a part of our stimulus was cannabis for sure.
How did Yo! MTV Raps help hip-hop cross over into “mainstream” white culture?
My intention, having watched MTV prior and was frustrated with some of these VJ’s, wanting to see a Michael Jackson or Prince video, you’d wait for hours. Specifically people of color — Michael Jackson, Prince — I wanted to see those guys and had to wait. My intent (which became a kind of a big saying) was “keeping it real.” Keep in mind, hip-hop in this culture was not nationally seen or recognized. It was mostly in New York City in that Tri-state area. So we knew [that] I’m gonna be talking to the target audience, but also make it understandable and not try to be too hip or slick so that we go over people’s heads. What was really the biggest surprise, we got an indication of why they wanted to do this show when they put the pilot on MTV, just showing a bunch of Run DMC, Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, [and] LL Cool J [videos]. When the ratings came back, they thought that the Nielsen system must have broken, because the ratings were so high, they could not believe the kind of numbers they were getting.
In previous generations, people in the ’50s and the ’60s — white kids specifically — when they heard good music, they didn’t care like whether it was Chuck Berry or whoever was making it. If it was good, if it rocked the house, then it got accepted. So that was able to break down a lot of racial barriers, where those white kids who was loving that that early rock and roll may not have known any black kids or understood, but it was good; they felt it and they got down with it. And so I was in a position to kind of do something similar.
Why did you direct Grass Is Greener, which looks at the links between marijuana policy and white supremacy through the lens of Black music?
My dad was a cannabis aficionado, a jazz lover. I had a lot of his friends around the house, and they smoked cannabis and talked about everything going on in the world. Being a kid growing up, I knew I couldn’t say that to anybody because it was such a heavy taboo and a stigma on cannabis.
As a younger kid, I’d seen a record in the record store that was called 15 Reefer Songs … it was a compilation of early jazz songs from major jazz players. I came home to my dad and his friends. I was like, “Wait a minute, what’s going on?” and they laughed because when they were young they knew these records [so] that basically told me that there was a musical connection in the beginning of all of this. And then when I was hosting Yo! MTV Raps, people that you saw in the doc like Snoop Dogg and the guys from Cypress Hill, these guys debuted on the show and then they made big records bigging up cannabis.
Basically, it was an opportunity to tell the story; using music was my big inspiration, and figuring I can make a fun film showing a lot of different people and music. I could have went on and on, and I’m pitching us a series now [telling] more of those stories.
How did you connect with Bernard Noble to champion his case?
Luckily I picked Bernard’s case to focus on as a look at the nonsensical criminal justice laws for nonviolent cannabis offenders, and Bernard’s case just stood out. A guy that was given a 13-year sentence for two joints’ worth of cannabis just seemed insanity. I just dived in and then got inspired to create this brand after learning from all these other people, all these other activists, all these other people that had been on the front line. I said, “Man, I really want to do something but I want to do something that could help make change.”
A couple of years before I made the film, let’s say maybe 2016-17, Vice had a show called Weediquette that looked at different things around cannabis. They did a show on this guy that was given all this time for two joints’ worth of cannabis. He was in prison and they were at a little gathering with his family [and] it just seemed so sad, and it really hit me the way they put this piece together. So when we were looking to find a case that I wanted to really zoom in on in the film, I said this guy’s case. … Then luckily, he got a parole, so we flew back to capture the moment of him walking out of prison. That’s when we met and right away I said, “Man, this is a really sweet guy. What a sad story.”
What needs to change so that Black folks can build wealth through legal cannabis?
That was a motivator for me to jump into the business. It’s incredible the way Curaleaf was very focused on wanting to do the right thing and working with us as a company-wide initiative called “Rooted in Good” where they wanted to diversify through and through, so I got a really good vibe and inspiration from them.
You’ve got to really drill in on your local politicians. I mean, it’s a serious, hard fight. … These issues [are] still very glaring, and that’s why this the fight must continue, the awareness must continue; raising these issues as much as possible with your local politicians, and letting them know what’s going on. We’ve got to just keep beating that drum, is all we can do. Progress is being made, but as you so well understand, we’ve got a long way to go.
Do you have a favorite strain or method of cannabis consumption?
I like flower; a little concentrate here and there. I remember years ago, we used to have hashish available. [Today’s concentrates] are super strong, but adding a little dab of it when you’re rolling up a nice joint could be like having a special cocktail as opposed to coming home and just wanting to kick back and have the equivalent of a glass of wine.
The terpene thing I’m honestly learning about and fascinated about. There’s all these other components of the plant that we’ve not had the full effect to go in and drill down and then see what other benefits are when they can isolate them. … We’ve got a lot more to go just in terms of the research and learning more. So [federal law] has hindered us, and it could be helping a lot more people: the medicinal properties of the plant making our lives a lot better.
What are the prospects of Florida (and the nation) legalizing adult recreational use?
I’ve seen more progress than I was prepared for in Florida. Clearly a long way to go. I mean, people would like it to be adult use; they’re going to make great revenue for the state, and they’re going to realize if we go adult use, we’re gonna make even more revenue for the state. At the same time, the opioid crisis which has killed tens of thousands of people and ruined tens of thousands of lives; people are realizing that cannabis in a lot of instances is a great alternative.
We’ve been prescribed opioids which have led to too many people getting strung out and addicted, a major health crisis. And by the way, I like to always point out: Cannabis has killed absolutely no one. All the lies we’ve been bombarded with for over 80 years, we’re living through the process of seeing this unravel. It’s amazing. … I’m glad the brand is able to raise a little bit of awareness, and get some people understanding that we still have a long way to go.
Hopefully they can get this thing fixed as we move closer and closer to full adult use. And once the Feds — and hopefully Biden, who ran on doing this, in his re-election will maybe use that as something to entice people to come and vote. Because, you know, that’s part of what he ran on, is doing this. So we are optimistic and hoping for better going forward.
