{"id":3795,"date":"2022-01-21T21:20:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T21:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=191454"},"modified":"2022-01-21T21:20:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T21:20:00","slug":"the-nyc-legend-behind-redmans-20-year-old-stash-of-branson-buds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3795","title":{"rendered":"The NYC legend behind Redman\u2019s 20-year-old stash of Branson buds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>The NYC legend behind Redman&#8217;s 20-year-old stash of Branson buds | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.5 (Yoast SEO v17.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <\/p>\n<div id=\"copy_clipboard_success\" class=\"fixed top-0 left-0 right-0\">\n<div class=\"bg-white p-lg container mt-xl flex justify-between elevation-low rounded\"> <span class=\"flex items-center\">     <span class=\"ml-md\">Link copied to your clipboard<\/span> <\/span> <button id=\"copy_clipboard_close_btn\">    <\/button> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>                <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Most bud heads are familiar with&nbsp;Redman&nbsp;and&nbsp;Method Man\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Cheech &amp; Chong<\/em>-style&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/75-stoner-movies-to-beat-the-coronavirus-quarantine-blues\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><span>How High<\/span><\/a><\/em>&nbsp;comedy franchise. But few remember that Method and Red coined the famous <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Method-man-and-redman-how-high-remix-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cHow High\u201d<\/a> title way back in 1995.<\/p>\n<p>On that classic track, and many others, the doobie-loving duo served fans funny, memorable, marijuana-themed boasts. For most \u201990s smokers, their lyrics gave a rare taste of the high life at a time when high-quality strains weren\u2019t easily accessible. <\/p>\n<p>The stories about how hard it was to find quality weed in New York City back in the day are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rvq6ULRKGCQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endless<\/a>. In that era, if you weren\u2019t well-connected, the high-THC \u201cchronic\u201d strains that West Coast rappers bragged about were damn near mythical. But many of the best buds that did make it to the East Coast back then hit the streets in triangle-shaped baggies associated with a legacy market pioneer known simply as Branson.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-makes-branson-s-buds-a-weed-storians-holy-grail\">What makes Branson\u2019s buds a weed-storians holy grail?<\/h2>\n<p>Three Januaries ago, Redman took social media\u2019s more seasoned puffers on a walk down memory lane. While rummaging through old clothes at his mother\u2019s house, the Newark, NJ native struck cannabis gold: a 20-year-old original sack of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/therealredman\/status\/1081628581283786755?s=21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Branson-era weed<\/a>. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><\/figure>\n<p>Who is&nbsp;Branson,&nbsp;you may ask? Let\u2019s just say that if modern day weed mogul and&nbsp;<span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/lifestyle\/weed-mogul-life-tips-berner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cookies CEO&nbsp;Berner<\/a><\/span>&nbsp;mapped his business practice and product lineage on a family tree, Branson would be his grandfather.&nbsp;And Berner would be the first to tell you that his genius genetics trace back to Branson\u2019s pre-social media influence. He even made it a priority to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B3ulp8RlPTU\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">connect and partner<\/a> with the OG on a legal weed venture.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>I\u2019m try\u2019na bring back Branson (what up, legend?)\u201d \u2013 Berner <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Berner-dope-boy-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cDope Boy\u201d<\/a> (2018)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Working out of a candy store-slash-juice bar in Harlem, Branson was a major conductor and distributor of high-grade marijuana and hash oils in NYC during the early \u201990\u2019s. Operating in the thick of the War On Drugs from&nbsp;Harlem, Branson was one of the rare standalone plugs that celebrity smokers visiting NYC could count on to deliver good gas. Hence the chronic name drops on songs from East Coast rappers like&nbsp;The Notorious B.I.G., The LOX,&nbsp;Nas, and Redman himself (read more classic lyrics about Branson below).<\/p>\n<h2>How high can you get off 20-year-old weed?<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/cannabis-101\/identifying-cannabis-past-shelf-life\">shelf life of cannabis<\/a> depends on a number of factors. Depending on how it was grown, cured, and stored, potency could be preserved for about 10 years. But if you ever find an old stash, at least check it for mold and other signs of degredation before lighting up.<\/p>\n<p>Although Red\u2019s Branson bag was about 10 years past being smokable, his video gave a refreshing and uplifting hit of nostalgia for some, and put others on to the important influence this underground trailblazer had on the modern industry.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cCause I\u2019m crazy off that chronic from my man Branson\/I shoot to kill, puff blunts in Hooterville\u201d \u2013 Redman <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Redman-da-journee-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cDa Journee\u201d<\/a> (1994)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>Classic bars about Branson\u2019s bud<\/h2>\n<p>Long before Hip Hop and legal weed were billion dollar corporate licks, many of Branson\u2019s legacy clients were pot culture\u2019s loudest cannabis advocates, both on and off the record. <\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the lyrics that cemented his place in history:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cYo, yo, if I had twenty four hours to kick the bucket, fuck it\/I\u2019d probably eat some fried chicken and drink a Nantucket\/Then go get a jar from Branson\/And make sure I leave my mother the money to take care of grandson.\u201d \u2013 Jadakiss \u201c24 Hours to Live\u201d (1997)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cGet my weed from Branson \u2019cause his sack\u2019s bigger.\u201d \u2013 Redman <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Redman-whateva-man-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cWhateva Man\u201d<\/a> (1997)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cSpent half of my advance on jars from Branson\/To make it through my circumstances.\u201d \u2013 Ma$e <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Brandy-top-of-the-world-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cTop of the World\u201d<\/a> (1998)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe used to buy weed from Norven\/Now we straight Branson-ed out.\u201d \u2013 N.O.R.E. <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Nore-hed-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cHed\u201d<\/a> (1998)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cBought ten bricks, four pounds of weed plants\/From Branson, now we lampin, twelve room mansion\u201d \u2013 The Notorious B.I.G. <a href=\"http:\/\/Bought%20ten%20bricks,%20four%20pounds%20of%20weed%20plants%20From%20Branson,%20now%20we%20lampin,%20twelve%20room%20mansion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cRap Phenomenon\u201d<\/a> (1999)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cSmoke a little Branson on the side of the mansion\u201d \u2013 LL Cool J <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Ll-cool-j-shut-em-down-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cShut \u2018Em Down\u201d<\/a> (2000)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cOne-fo\u2019-fo\u2019 hydro smoke to choke on (Okay!)\/Branson holdin handguns to toke on.\u201d Redman <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Redman-lick-a-shot-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cLick a Shot\u201d<\/a> (2001)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a Bentley to you, to me it\u2019s a blue car\/So Branson pass me a jar\/\u2019Cause these cats done went too far\u201d \u2013 Puff Daddy and the Family <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Puff-daddy-and-the-family-diddy-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cDiddy\u201d<\/a> (2001)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cBut where\u2019s your money?\/You wanna start that bad?\/You spent it all on Branson.\u201d \u2013 Cam\u2019Ron <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Camron-stan-remix-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cStan (Remix)\u201d<\/a> (2001)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cUptown strawberries haze, switch blades in my dungarees<br \/>Pineapple weed, look what Branson done done to me<br \/>Hash like Government cheese, burning til my pen run out of ink\u201d \u2013 Redman <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Redman-branson-branson-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cBranson, Branson\u201d<\/a> (2007)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote is-style-solid-color\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn your memory I keep the Coogi in my closet\/Kangol on the rack, a fresh pair of Wallies\/You know I\u2019m still the liquor and the weed child\/And still got Branson on speed dial.\u201d \u2013 Jadakiss <a href=\"https:\/\/genius.com\/Jadakiss-letter-to-big-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cLetter to B.I.G.\u201d<\/a> (2009)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-nyc-legend-behind-redmans-20-year-old-stash-of-branson-buds.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Reagans's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Dan Reagans<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Dan Reagans is a veteran journalist now living in Los Angeles. The Harlem native has covered culture and media for over a decade.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/dan-reagans\">View Dan Reagans&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2022-01-22 03:53:13 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NYC legend behind Redman&#8217;s 20-year-old stash of Branson buds | Leafly Link copied to your clipboard Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Most bud heads are familiar with&nbsp;Redman&nbsp;and&nbsp;Method Man\u2019s&nbsp;Cheech &amp; Chong-style&nbsp;How High&nbsp;comedy franchise. But few remember that Method and Red coined the famous \u201cHow High\u201d title way back in 1995. On that classic track, and many others, the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/the-nyc-legend-behind-redmans-20-year-old-stash-of-branson-buds.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}