He might be the world’s hottest rapper. And he loves rhyming about reefer. But will Baby’s brand new strain, ‘Wham!,’ pass Leafly’s First Toke test?
On Friday August 26, Atlanta golden child Lil Baby birthed a new cannabis line. His Wham! brand is more than just a quick “dank you” to fans as he prepares for his next album run. Wham! is the legacy dealer’s first punch at legal cannabis. And it doesn’t look like it will be his last shot at the licensed game.
“I was selling weed when they came out with ‘White Tee,’” Baby rapped in 2018, nodding to the 2004 ATL classic, “White Tee” by Dem Franchize Boyz. For reference, Baby was born in December of 1994. Suddenly, his rap name makes a lot of sense, right?
His influence on the streets of Atlanta runs so deep, his 4PF rap crew was blamed for the Obama Runtz rush of 2020. But starting April of this year, Baby started rolling out Wham!, along with The Holding Company behind it.
The details of WHAM!’s business ties are mostly private, for now. But Cookies CEO Berner, GUMBO CEO Luka Brazi, and Joke’s Up! CEO Yung LB are all supporting the movement in their own unique ways.
THC-heavy cannabis is far from legal in Baby’s home state of Georgia, but small amounts are decriminalized in the city of Atlanta, and other municipalities. And low-THC oil is the only option approved for GA’s medical patients. Lucky for Baby, the global appeal of his music means he doesn’t have to wait around for The Peach State to get in the game.
Read more 28 grams of game
So what’s Wham! really hitting for? Leafly contributor Dan Reagans stopped by LA’s Joke’s Up! Ice Kream shop to see if Lil Baby’s weed is a big-time heavy hitter on par with his Billboard hits.
A clean, relaxing buzz for the bosses
From the first toke, Wham! hits fast, with a relaxing, but not sleepy buzz. When you crack the package, poignant gassy nodes fill the room. But after the initial rush of gas, Wham! carries more subtle hints of piney outdoor terps that can melt tension at first sniff.
The flower is cured to perfection. With no messy or sticky breakdown, so rolling prep is quick and easy. When you’re paying $72 for an eighth (3.5 grams), you want to make sure every bit of THC goes into your roll-up. Wham! doesn’t leave the good stuff stuck in your grinder or on your fingertips.
This is best used as an evening bud that melts the day’s stress away. It won’t put you straight to sleep, but it does go straight to the body without an intense head rush.
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Showing you dispensaries nearAlthough this flower will have users laid back and relaxed for 30-90 minutes, the high doesn’t linger or feel oppressive. Depending on THC tolerance, heavyweights may find themselves rolling up more sooner than later to keep the vibe alive.
Wham! final verdict
The quick buzz is convenient if you’re a boss who needs a quick break or mellow rush. But those who want intense medical effects that will put them on their bottom in one punch might find Wham! requires a couple extra hits to finish the job. The effects are playa, but the price is not. If it wasn’t for the high ticket, I’d say this is the A-minus grade cultivar you keep in the cut for calm occasions. But these inflationary times mean Wham! gets curved to a B+ overall.
Find Wham! while supplies last at Joke’s Up! Ice Kream dispensaries (Studio City, Downtown LA), The Ten Co (Perris, CA), Cookies (Melrose, San Francisco, Mission Valley), Backpack Boyz (LA, San Diego), Nug (Sacramento, San Leandro, El Cerrito, Oakland) and The Cure Company (Inglewood, Crenshaw, DTLA) across California for a limited time.
To keep up with Baby’s next moves in legal weed, visit his Holding THC Instagram or website. Not to be confused with JAY-Z’s Parent Company, Baby’s Holding Company is well-positioned to match bags with other MC-run marijuana businesses like JAY’s Monogram, Wiz Khalifa’s Khalifa Kush, B-Real’s Dr. Greenthumb’s, and Lil Kim’s Aphrodisiak.
Lil Baby’s 12 dankest rhymes about weed
- “3.5 or better whenever I smoke, I see ‘em doin’ it, but I do the most.” “Moved to Miami” (2021)
Baby claimed last year that he pays $500 per ounce. So if he’s really smoking 3.5-gram blunts every time, he’s running through a $500 zip every day or two by himself, at least. That’s definitely “doing the most.”
- “If I ain’t smokin’ Runtz, then it’s probably Limoncello.” “Forever” (2020)
Runtz co-founder and chief marketer Yung LB helped secure the Leafly 2020 Strain of the Year honor by getting the game’s hottest rappers to shoutout Runtz with the same pride they use when name-dropping designer clothes and luxury cars.
- “Come from out the trenches getting paid like a pop star, I be selling weed by the P like a Rasta” – “24” (2020)
This musical ode to Kobe Bryant included a few strong lines about bud, but this one hits the hardest.
- “Joke’s Up! it gotta be stamped on the package/This the Real 1 you know that I’m taxing” – “Real As It Gets” (2021)
This subtle shoutout to Yung LB’s Joke’s Up! umbrella, and its Atlanta-based Real 1 brand, is another example of music’s power for turning weed into a status symbol.
Rappers with weed brands
- “Ain’t been on the scene that much, I’m somewhere getting loaded. Ain’t talking ‘bout weed that I smoke or (drink) I poured’d. I’m talking ‘bout this money I been saving up” – “Frozen” (2022)
Do you know how high you have to be to rhyme loaded with poured’d?
- “Ridin’ in the foreign, chiefin’ on the forest” Lil Baby “All In” (2020)
In 2021, Baby spent the night in a French jail cell after the car he was pulled over and cops said they smelled weed. They found almost an ounce, and fined Baby before releasing him the next day.
- “Hold up, who got Backwoods? I need roll up” “Commercial” (2020)
Baby is a Backwoods aficionado. When you roll 3.5 gram blunts, woods are some of the only wraps that won’t break under the pressure.
- “I keep money coming in constantly/My lil’ brodie and them be having Runtz for cheap” “Ramen & OJ” (2021)
More Runtz love. Maybe that kid from the viral Obama Runtz video wasn’t lying about Baby being a secret part of the Runtz crew.
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- “Baby keep it real with his people, Baby like a preacher, Baby prolly still sell reefer” “Baby” (2019)
If your preacher sells reefer, you are blessed and highly-favored.
- “My man’s still selling weed but he ain’t me so I can’t tell him stop/Then again I’m happy it’s just weed and he ain’t selling block” “DJ Clue Freestyle” (2020)
You want your friends to stop selling weed, but you respect their autonomy. Only solution: Start a legal weed line and give them jobs. Wham!
- “I can see me taking the lead over the new school/They remember me from selling weed at my old school.” “Emotionally Scarred” (2020)
States like New York, New Jersey and Illinois are giving legacy operators and non-violent cannabis offenders a shot at leading their adult-use markets. When Georgia finally goes green, Baby will be positioned alongside legacy brands like GasHouse, Sharklatto, and Real 1 to make a big play.
- “Living like a don, might smoke a blunt in the back of the Maybach” “In a Minute” (2022)
If you can’t relate to burning blunts in the back of your six-figure chauffeured car, smoking Wham! in the back of an Uber might provide similar effects*.
*Leafly and Lil Baby are not responsible for how your account rating is impacted by this boss decision.
Wham! Bam! Thank you, Baby!
Stay tuned for more updates from Wham! and other hot Pot Culture releases.
