Why famous rappers are smoking throwback natural leaf cigars

Cigars, and the joys of smoking them have been prevalent in Hip Hop culture for decades. Global rap superstars are often photographed holding cigars in hand, and featuring billowing plumes of smoke in their music videos. Music mogul Jay Z is said to have created his empire with a cigar in hand, and rappers like Snoop Dogg, Travis Scott and Cardi B have always been pretty vocal about their love for cigars and cigarillos. Nas has been known recently to be fond of a Churchill cigar.

Over the past 4 years, cigarillo sales in particular have increased significantly – in part due to the decrease in price over that period of time, but mostly due to the prevalent influencer marketing surrounding the luxurious, hedonistic lifestyle that comes with cigar smoking, especially the kind exhibited by the Hip Hop industry.

Enjoying 20 Years of Throwback Natural Leaf Cigars

Throwback Natural Leaf Cigars are a majority black-owned company and have been around for over 20 years. Launched in December 2020, they’re available in 45 states and the company has sold over 37 million cigars to date. Famous rappers like Rick Ross, Soulja Boy and Jim Jones have often endorsed them for their quality.

Throwback cigars are a gas station staple; and sometimes one finds that these types of cigars are not necessarily the best quality. In fact, most complaints about gas station cigar varieties stem from the disappointment of cigars being too stale to smoke. But Throwback cigar fans  know that there is quality in every pack; cigars made of rich, dark leaves from the Dominican Republic, carefully made to ensure no holes or stems are present in any of their cigars.

Rappers Like Throwback Cigars for their Philanthropic Efforts

Warren Rampersad, co-founder of Throwback Natural Leaf Cigars says the reason they constantly churn out great quality cigars is due to the close-knit family type of relationship they have with their manufacturing team: “The cigar factory that we own in the Dominican Republic pays our workers above minimum wage, and during hurricane season when the factory was closed, we continued paying them their salary,” Rampersad said.

Locally in the United States they also support their local churches with cash donations and Rampersad has started an animal shelter in his motherland of Suriname. “During Thanksgiving we also hand out free food in Hialeah, Florida. We like to do these things not to be on the radar, but because we genuinely care about people. I think rappers tend to like to support brands with this kind of philanthropic trait more, as well as having a satisfyingly good cigar smoking experience!” Rampersad said.

Rick Ross on Throwback Cigars

Rick Ross is particularly fond of smoking Throwback cigars as he hails from Florida, where Throwback have their headquarters. Ross is known to love luxurious brands, cars, and the good life, which of course also includes expensive cigars, as well as gas station staples like Throwbacks. On his album Deeper than Rap, he raps on his song ‘Cigar Music:’ “Fascinated with foreign felines/Since I was knee high/This cigar got me buzzin’ like a Bee hive.”

No Competition When it Comes to Affordable Quality Cigars

According to Rampersad, competitors in the market like Backwoods have lighter coloured leaves and exhibit harsh flavors that often burn your throat. “Our leaves roll better, too. We are smokers, so we know all about quality. We’ve been in the business for over twenty years and we do get high on our own supply!” Rampersad laughs.

“Backwoods never really cared about their customers enough to give them a good, quality cigar offering because they never had competition. With more rappers liking and choosing our brand, we intend to carry on producing high quality cigars at a good price,” Rampersad said.

Throwback Cigars Bring the Flavor

Throwback Cigars currently come in pouches of 5, boxes with 8 pouches of 5, and also recently started offering single pouches as well. True to gas station style cigar palates, they produce cigars packed with flavor; from Russian Cream, Sweet Aromatic, Wild Berry, and Banana Nana, to Black Velvet, Grape Cherry Blizz, Vanilla and Original.

Though most famous rappers can afford the more expensive and exclusive kind of cigar, it’s a huge compliment to have their support for a more affordable, flavor-packed offering like Throwback Natural Leaf cigars. It just goes to show that having a good business vision and never compromising on quality can spell success and garner fame: “In the future we want to be available everywhere around the world,” Rampersaid said.