When New Mexicans think “green,” it’s usually chile that comes to mind.
For a local rapper born and raised in the Land of Enchantment, a different shade of green was featured in his music video, and it’s causing a stir.
The rapper known as Versatile Verse or Verse set his video in a marijuana production facility run by the Ultra Health dispensary.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Ken Groggel, manager of the state’s Medical Cannabis Program, sent Ultra Health a letter on Sept. 1 asking the company to explain how the film crew got access to the production facility, and how the video benefits qualified patients and the program.
Verse said he felt that his video actually promoted the positives of medical marijuana.
“Basically I feel like marijuana is a positive thing, rather than alcohol or any other form of drugs. I think that marijuana is something that helps people,” he said, “and it really gave me the opportunity to kind of flex that with New Mexico. In the video it allowed me to say that medical marijuana has survived harsh things.”
Versatile Verse said he felt positively about the media coverage and that, in the end, it got his video more exposure.
“With the media coverage, it kind of boosted it to the point where people are really getting behind it now,” he said.
Despite the criticism that has surrounded his video, Versatile Verse said the point of his video was to to talk about the pros and the cons of New Mexico, but with a focus on the positive.
“I feel like there is so much going on and we never really get to talk about the positives,” Verse said.
His choice for settings came from the hook of his song, he said.
“Being from New Mexico where the chile is green and the city is cold, I was thinking, that greenery like marijuana plants,” he said.
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Verse said Ultra Health allowed him to film in one of their dispensaries, and one of his relatives works for the company.
He said they have been following his music and offered him to go through the facility and take some photos or do some video work on a professional level.
“I just jumped on it right away. I had my cinematographers with me and it was all set, so it worked out perfectly,” Versatile Verse said.
Despite the controversy surrounding the part of the video in the marijuana facility, there were other locations in the video.
Verse said they also filmed on the outskirts of Albuquerque, in the Sandias, on the west mesa and at a few lake spots.
He said he wanted to capture New Mexico as a whole and purposely included popular symbols of New Mexico including a UNM Lobo shirt and cap, the Zia symbol and the New Mexican flag.
“I wanted to support and represent my state, so people know that I haven’t abandoned it,” he said.
Verse said he feels medical marijuana is a positive, and that it’s definitely better than alcohol and the drugs he feels are flooding Albuquerque.
“The whole city has jumped behind me and is supporting me and pushing me to keep going and make music. Everyone is really helpful right now and I’m just grateful,” he said.
Verse said he has been creating music for about 15 years, beginning when he was 14 years old.
“My older brother was into music so that really helped me,” he said.
Verse said the song was inspired by the Jay Z track “Empire State of Mind,” which portrays the rapper’s love for New York.
“(Albuquerque) is my hometown, that’s where I grew up. That was basically my whole background — the culture there, the food, the people. Everything about Albuquerque, New Mexico was giving me the inspiration to create that song,” he said.
Daniel Hollifield, a senior philosophy and archaeology double major, said he didn’t understand the controversy surrounding the local rap artist’s video.
“It would be something if he was smoking a lot of weed in the video but he isn’t. He’s singing about how great New Mexico is, and New Mexico has legalized medical marijuana — he’s singing about how that is a good thing,” Hollifield said.
Verse said fans of his work can look forward to more music, and that he is planning to collaborate with more artists.
“There's a lot of traveling going on, so I’m shaking hands with different people. I’m looking for the opportunity to put my music on a global platform, get as far as I can and never forget where I came from. I’m a diehard New Mexican,” he said.
Nichole Harwood is a freelance news reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
