The son of rap legend Notorious B.I.G. is launching his own marijuana brand in honour of his late father.
Actor C.J. Wallace, whose mother is singer Faith Evans, has unveiled the Think BIG label with bosses at Lowell Herb Co., with whom he will produce a variety of cannabis products, including pre-rolled joints, vapes, and gummies, as well as branded apparel and stationery.
Among the items on offer will be a pre-roll pack called The Frank White Creative Blend, taking its name from Christopher Walken's famed drug dealer character in 1990 crime thriller King of New York. Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie, adopted the name as his alter ego and initially rapped about it on the song The What, from his classic debut album Ready to Die.
Wallace, 22, explains he was inspired to get into the growing legalised marijuana industry because weed has long been a part of his life - from his parents' frequent use of the drug to the cannabidiol (CBD) treatments undergone by his younger brother Ryder, who is on the autism spectrum.
"Cannabis is something I've always been connected to, even at a young age," he tells Variety.
"(Think BIG was) born of a shared mission for social justice and a fundamental goal to herald in a new era where cannabis is no longer considered contraband, but a catalyst for creativity."
Wallace and his business partner Willie Mack aim to use some of the company's proceeds to help prioritise social justice initiatives, like the Prison Arts Project, through which organisers hope to use art as a positive influence on those serving time behind bars.
"The goal is to celebrate cannabis," Lowell marketing director Dominic Grech shares. "We're tired of the negative stigma surrounding it. We felt C.J. and Willie were the perfect pair for us to get in business with."
Wallace also wants to use Think BIG to cast his hip-hop icon dad "in a different light," remembering him as a family man instead of just the tough persona he became known for in the industry.
"All I heard growing up was the bad stuff... that he was a drug dealer, a gangsta rapper, a criminal," he says. "Now that I've grown older, I realise he was a father, a loving son, someone who cared about his friends, girlfriends and wives. That's what I want to honour."
Biggie was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles on 9 March, 1997, aged just 24.
