How My Cannabis Poem Landed on 8 Billboard Charts

How My Cannabis Poem Landed on 8 Billboard Charts

So, I could not help but be completely surprised, dazed, almost confused, when I found out that an album featuring my scolding rap on cannabis legalization had hit not one, but eight different Billboard Charts, including the numero uno (#1) on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #9 on Rap Charts, and #11 on Independent Charts. Over a longer-than-usual shower, I came up with a poem, a rendition of one of Lin-Manuel’s own, to send him: Yo, Lin. Allow me to use your “ritmo,” To talk cannabis legalization. I’ll be in touch should his schedule change.” Disappointed? I even laughed to myself thinking of some parts – like “The great debate over morals has to wait / That’s Bubba telling Forest about shrimp on Judgment Day.” The Record Deal Fast forward to early April of 2018 – almost a year after that long shower. I’m in Pittsburgh at the World Medical Cannabis Conference and Expo, presenting my book with Entrepreneur: Start Your Own Cannabis Business: Your Step-By-Step Guide to the Marijuana Industry. Allow me to drop some “ritmo,” Talk cannabis legalization. We’ve got Veterans, kids and mothers, patients going down the gutters What about taxes? We need to make weed legal, it is time to cut the loss. Sean Spicer, I’ll agree with your alternative “facts,” I’ll play board-games with the Kushners, I’ll wear a Trump campaign hat.

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How My Cannabis Poem Landed on 8 Billboard Charts

If you look at many of the top tracks and on the Billboard charts, you’ll notice most of the subject matter deals with love, partying, or inhabiting Chris Brown’s body. So, I could not help but be completely surprised, dazed, almost confused, when I found out that an album featuring my scolding rap on cannabis legalization had hit not one, but eight different Billboard Charts, including the numero uno (#1) on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #9 on Rap Charts, and #11 on Independent Charts.

The album, The Whoodlum Ball, was produced by Smith & Hay, DJ Whoo Kid, and Ranna Royce. It features big-name rappers, cool up-and-comers and O.G.’s like Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Inspectah Deck, Twista, Lil Windex, Riff Raff, and Parliament-Funkadelic’s Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey.

So, how did I, a humble cannabis writer, get on this chart-topping record?

The Backstory

It all started in my shower.

I had recently seen famed playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda deliver a spot-on performance explaining Puerto Rico’s debt crisis on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and thought: This guy would make for a great interview and could definitely add value to my book on cannabis business for Entrepreneur, which I was writing at the time.

I knew it would be hard to get him to talk about cannabis, even from a medical perspective. So I tried to get creative with my pitch. Over a longer-than-usual shower, I came up with a poem, a rendition of one of Lin-Manuel’s own, to send him:

Yo, Lin. Allow me to use your “ritmo,”

To talk cannabis legalization.

Let me tell you about the Washingtons that could fund education.

We could create a lot of wealth for every state in our great Nation,

A multiple billion-dollar basis of new taxation.

After about 15 minutes I had an entire song. I wrote it all down as soon as I got out of the shower.

Then I sent the whole, 300-word poem to Lin-Manuel’s team. Let’s just say the response was not what I hoped:

“Regrettably, due to his work schedule, he is unavailable for an interview at this time. I’ll be in touch should his schedule change.”

Disappointed? Yes, but I still cherished the poem. It was fun writing…

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