Berner Drops His New Album ‘Packs’
With 25 solo and collaborative albums since 2009 and numerous successful marijuana business ventures, Berner is one of the world’s most productive stoners. Gliding over glistening beats, Berner lives the high life on Packs, his latest album, released via Taylor Gang and Bern One Entertainment.
On Packs, Berner creates a pothead’s paradise, with deep reverb-heavy bass, airy vox, and liquid keys creating an ideal atmosphere for a smoke session. Featuring appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Quavo, Young Dolph, French Montana, Paul Wall, Mozzy, Chevy Woods, and others, Packs is a family affair, with each guest seamlessly integrating into Berner’s blissed out world. Last week, Berner released the vibey, exuberant “Niice,” featuring Paul Wall and a typically excellent hook from Quavo, the first single from the project, which has already earned over 116k plays on SoundCloud.
Berner spoke on his new project, saying,
While Hempire was a fun album and Prohibition with B-Real had classic stoner vibes, Packs is more street oriented and sample-heavy. It’s a throwback to my older sound for my core fan base. The album cover of me sending money in the mail explains the title. A lot of fans got mad at the cover, saying that it’s ‘too real’ and that I shouldn’t be so overt about how drugs are bought and sold on a large scale. The truth is, anyone who does this stuff for real knows that’s not how it really goes down.”
Packs closes out an exceptionally productive 2016 for Berner, who released two additional albums this year. In March, Berner released the lush and expansive Hempire, a lush and expansive effort that reached #4 on the Billboard Hip-Hop Album Chart and garnered over 20 million streams on Spotify. More recently, in November, Berner teamed up with B-Real, the legendary Cypress Hill veteran, for Prohibition Part 3, the duo’s third collaborative release in the past three years. Released the day after the U.S. Elections, Prohibition Part 3 responds to the legalization of marijuana in Nevada, California, Maine, and Massachusetts in the 2016 election and passionately advocates for marijuana legalization across all 50 states.
Beyond music, the San Francisco native is a serial entrepreneur in the weed industry, building an empire founded on marijuana and related products. Berner is possibly most famous for reating popular cannabis strain Girl Scout Cookies, and founding apparel company Cookies SF, and he recently partnered with Jungle Boys to launch Exotikz, a home for the biggest “designer” marijuana strains and a legit platform for production & distribution.
To accompany the album’s release, Berner shares the visual for “Addict,” an ethereal rider’s anthem with Berner shouting out his hometown over a brilliant saxophone sample. The video finds Berner blazing up in a tropical villa, shooting pool and popping champagne as he enjoys a fine meal with a fine lady. A highlight from Packs, “Addict” is a great example of the album’s sample-heavy style. Packs is available to buy on iTunes and stream on Spotify.
Packs Tracklist:
- Intro
- Halfway
- Talk Is Cheap (ft. Young Dolph)
- In The Mix (ft. Wiz Khalifa & Chevy Woods)
- Float
- 20K (ft. Mozzy)
- Niice (ft. Quavo & Paul Wall)
- Problems
- Slow Down (ft. Wiz Khalifa)
- Addict
- T.K.I.L (ft. Yung Lb & Joe Ski)
- Hurry (ft. Quez)
- Clockin’ (ft. French Montana)
- Fork in the Road
- Twenty One (ft. Smiggz)
- Chilled (ft. Wiz Khalifa)
- Strains (ft. Kobe)
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