Photo Credit: Escobar Cigars
Nas has announced a partnership with Escobar Cigars as a co-owner and equity partner.
The Grammy-winning artist will promote the Nicaraguan cigar maker. Many hip-hop artists turn to spirits as investment, but Nasir ‘Nas’ Jones is known to love a good cigar.
“When the team at Escobar Cigars initially approached me, I was immediately drawn to the brand by the exceptional quality of their product,” Nas says. “This partnership with Escobar has been almost two years in the making and I am honored to be an equity partner with them.”
“I am looking forward to growing this brand and to giving back to the local communities in Nicaragua where our tobacco is grown, aged, and hand-rolled into a premium cigar.” The cigars are a blend of three sun-grown and aged Habano tobaccos. The fermentation and aging process is passed down from generations of skilled Cuban cigar makers.
The brand itself, Escobar Cigars, are a premium cigar offering from Puros Privados, Inc. The brand includes two different types of cigar, including the maduro and natural. Each type includes five cigar rolls, including robusto, churchill, double corona, double toro gordo, and the distinguidos romeo.
The wide variety of cigar shapes was designed to cater to the preferred taste of cigar aficionados. As part of the partnership with Escobar Cigars, Nas will advise on marketing and packaging.
“I look at it separately from any other business that I’m doing,” Nas told Fortune. “I’ve always had a hidden love for – well, not so hidden – I got tons of pictures through the years with different cigars.”
Escobar Cigars will launch a new cigar collection and will develop a line of handmade blunt wraps for the cannabis industry. Nas released the album King’s Disease II earlier this month, which includes a brief reference to Escobar Cigars.
Nas has been an active investor through his venture capital firm, QueensBridge Venture Partners. He started the VC firm with Anthony Saleh in 2013. The fund has offered seed money to many start-ups including Robinhood, Coinbase, Dropbox, and Lyft.
