‘Weed’ farm eager to break ground, give back

Dec. 1, 2021 | Amy Porter
amyporter@thewestfieldnews.com

From left, Belle Fleur's CEO Rolandy Romelus, CFO Domenico Cardarelli, Brand Director Khalia Taylor, CIO Irvin Whitlow, Travon Cooper, Jimmy Nguyen and Josiah Muhammed.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter

BLANDFORD – Residents once again gave thanks this year to the principals at Belle Fleur LLC, a wholesale cannabis cultivation and manufacturing operation at 138 Otis Stage Rd., which is ready to break ground later this month, according to Chief Executive Officer Rolandy Romelus.

In appreciation to the community and its residents, Romelus and his partners at Belle Fleur gave away 260 fresh, free-range turkeys on Nov. 22 from Bob’s Turkeys in Lancaster, after having given away 216 a year ago.

“It’s time to give back during the holidays,” he said. “It’s from the heart; something we want to do.”

Also present at the turkey giveaway were co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Irvin Whitlow; Chief Financial Officer Domenico Cardarelli; Brand Director Khalia Taylor, Travon Cooper, Jimmy Nguyen and Josiah Muhammed.

Romelus said the road to his operation has been paved up the mountain from Otis Stage Road, the foundation area has been cleared, and builders are moving logs and laying masonry brick. He said they expect to place the foundation in two to three weeks for the two-story, 78,436-square-foot facility, which was approved by the town in May. Once the building is completed, the state Cannabis Control Commission will make its final inspection, and Belle Fleur can “open the next day.”

The product to be grown in Blandford, and sold to the wholesale market, is Rapper Weed, which started in California in 2019. Both Romelus and Whitlow were in the music business before transitioning to cannabis. Romelus said music and marijuana go together, and Rapper Weed became known for its boutique styling and extremely high quality, which was embraced by the rap music culture.

According to a press release from Audacious Brands, which signed a supply agreement with Belle Fleur and Rapper Weed in June, Whitlow is a highly successful, Grammy award-winning music industry executive, having sold over 30 million records throughout his career. In 2010, he discovered Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly, who soon after inked a major deal with Bad Boy and Interscope records under the team’s independent imprint, EST 19XX.

In addition to Machine Gun Kelly, Whitlow cultivated relationships with some of the hottest artists and producers in the music industry, including Travis Barker, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, Wiz Khalifa, Black Bear, Migos, O.T. Genasis, Young Dro and many others.

While running his record label, Romelus noticed the strong link between rappers and cannabis, and decided to launch his own brand. He set out to create a brand experience that encompassed the entire culture and lifestyle, which resulted in partnering with Whitlow to found Rapper Weed.

Cardarelli called Rapper Weed “the Louis Vuitton and Tom Ford” of cannabis. He said he wants to introduce the brand to Massachusetts and Greater Boston, where Romelus, Whitlow and Taylor all grew up. He said they have visited 196 Massachusetts dispensaries to date, and 150 of them have expressed an interest in selling Rapper Weed.

“We are excited about bringing our high-quality genetics and brand/lifestyle to the newly emerging market,” Cardarelli said. “With our strong brand and roots in the state of California, high-quality products and a fully vertical business plan, we are extremely excited to make a much-needed impact on the Massachusetts cannabis market.”

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