In the Black community, there was a time when you would get all your news from the barbershop. If you wanted to know what happened locally or nationally; if you wanted to talk about sports or music; even if you just wanted to hear the latest gossip: you could do all that and more just by sitting in the barbershop for an hour or two.
I thought about that while I sat in the barber chair recently. It takes way more than 40 minutes for me to get a haircut, because we end up talking about everything under the sun. I was sitting in the chair at Ernies in the Cut, located in the historic Edgewood district of Atlanta, when I came up with the concept for this quarter's issue.
In between my cut and listening to conversations in the background, I started to think about things that would make for great barbershop conversations. Then it hit me: for this issue, I wanted to pull together stories that would spark great conversations in barbershops around the world. I think these four features are just those types of stories.
For this issue, we take a trip to Texas to speak with Richelle Scott - the brain behind the hit canna-play “Waitin on The Plug” - about how the idea came about, pulling off a show during SXSW and bringing the vision to Tubi.
After that, we look at the NBA.’s big decision to date when it comes to cannabis. What do the new regulations governing how players can engage with cannabis and cannabis brands mean for Black owners and founders? We speak with some who may feel those changes about how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement could impact Black cannabis.
Speaking of impacting cannabis, Chris Alexander is doing just that. As the executive director of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, he was tasked with crafting a recreational cannabis market in one of the country's most promising areas. Sounds easy, right? Chris talks to us about how easy it was not, the pressure of being first in his position, not bringing back prohibition 2.0, and what rapper headlines his playlists.
Last but not least, we take a look at the growing call for unionization in cannabis and why stories about workers rights are being shadow-banned in cannabis media.
Sit back, grab your choice of consumption method - or not - and take in issue no. 3. And if you ever need a cut, pull up to Ernie’s In the Cut Tell them you read about them and that you came for conversation AND the cut.
Signed, Mehka King