By Prince Hakeem
It looks like former Destiny Child’s manger and father to the great Beyonce and Solange Knowles is expanding his business empire, aiming his sites towards the cannabis market. The development comes after the news that his son-in-law Jay-Z is partnering with Caliva, a company that grows, harvests and sells its own cannabis products, based out in San Jose.
via Page Six:
Page Six has exclusively learned that he has signed on as chief marketing officer of Bangi Inc., a company that buys and leases real estate for weed farms and dispensaries.
Knowles — who famously managed Bey, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as Destiny’s Child, plus launched their solo careers and that of younger daughter Solange — told us he’ll be “leveraging my extensive network” to boost the company.
He told us that while he does partake in marijuana himself for “medicinal reasons,” Bangi doesn’t actually handle the drug.
“We are buying land .?.?. We’ll lease it back to the growers, the dispensaries, the extraction companies.”
Knowles will be putting together Bangi’s “global marketing campaign,” he told us.
“I’m a marketing guy. I like to think outside of the box. I like to be on the beginning of a trend and not at the end of it,” he said.
Coincidently, Knowles’ music mogul billionaire son-in-law, Jay-Z, has just been named chief brand strategist at California cannabis dispensary firm Caliva.
“We want to create something amazing, have fun in the process, do good and bring people along the way,” Jay-Z said in a statement.
But Knowles tells us that he hadn’t heard about Hov’s new venture until he read about it in the press.
“I found out the way you found out. [I thought,] ‘How ironic.’ I called my people, [and was like,] ‘Damn, I wish mine would have come out first!’?” he quipped. “The same week is cool. Neither one of us knew what the other was doing.”
As for whether they’ll ever join forces?
“It’s way too early to have that conversation,” Knowles told us.
