Berner – The Bay Area Rapper & Cannabis Entrepreneur
Introduction to Berner
Berner is an accomplished American rapper, entrepreneur and founder of the popular cannabis lifestyle brand, Cookies. Hailing from San Francisco, he has made a name for himself both in the music industry as well as in legal marijuana. With multiple charting albums, several prominent record deals and a sprawling vertically integrated cannabis company, Berner has earned his reputation as a self-made mogul.
Background and Early Life
Gilbert Anthony Milam Jr., known by his stage name Berner, was born on October 27, 1981 in San Francisco, California. He has mentioned coming from humble beginnings where his parents both held down multiple jobs to provide for the family.
Berner got his start dealing cannabis products as a teenager in the Bay Area. He has been open about using weed sales as means to fund his early music career and studio time (Source). Although going down the wrong path initially, the money he made hustling enabled him to lay the foundations for his eventual legitimate success in music and business.
Musical Style & Influences
Berner’s music falls predominantly in the West Coast hip hop genre, with a signature Bay Area hyphy sound. However, his style is versatile spanning rap, hip hop, pop and even some reggae/dancehall vibes at times (Source).
As a Latino growing up in California, Berner was influenced heavily by Chicano rap artists like Cypress Hill. He is known for his smooth flow along with bars that display both his Mexican heritage and ability to appeal more mainstream. While unabashed about his criminal past, Berner’s music also carries a redemptive undertone in aiming to motivate listeners to achieve their highest ambitions.
Early Mixtapes & Independent Albums
After releasing several street mixtapes, Berner dropped his first official project titled Dirty Sneakers independently on May 4, 2007. He continued to build his profile on the California rap scene, while catching a big break by signing to Taylor Gang Records in 2012.
Some of Berner’s other notable early mixtapes and indie albums include:
- The White Album (2008)
- Grand Theft Auto (2009)
- Mehico (2010)
- Drugstore Cowboy (2011)
- Urban Farmer (2012)
Record Labels & Major Projects
As mentioned, Berner signed to Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang Records label in 2012, elevating his visibility tremendously. He proceeded to drop multiple albums/mixtapes, including:
- 20 Lights (EP with Wiz Khalifa)
- Drugstore Cowboy (re-released)
- Hempire
- Couple of Grams
Berner eventually left Taylor Gang in 2017 to start his own imprint, Grizzly Republic. The label is now home to many West Coast acts, in addition to Berner himself.
Berner would expand even further in 2018 by partnering with producer/entrepreneur Cam Girl to launch GED Records (Get Everything Delivered). The label functions as a subsidiary of Cookies, blending Berner’s music ventures directly with his cannabis brands.
Some of Berner’s most popular studio albums, eps and mixtapes since going independent include:
- The Big Pescado (2016)
- Packs (2017)
- El Chivo (2018)
- Sleepwalking (2018)
- From Seed to Harvest (2020)
- Russ Bufalino (2022)
Collaborations Over the Years
Over his lengthy career, Berner has collaborated with a veritable who’s who of hip hop artists such as Wiz Khalifa, The Jacka, Demrick, Jungle, and E-40. His features exhibit both his mainstream appeal along with maintaining loyalty to his California roots.
Beyond individual songs, Berner’s joint projects include full length albums with:
- B-Real – Los Meros
- Mozzy – Slimey Individualz
- Styles P – Vibes
Headlining Tours & Performances
As both a solo rapper and member of the Taylor Gang, Berner has done multiple headlining tours across North America and Europe.
Some of his notable treks include:
- Cookies or Better Tour (2017)
- From Seed to Harvest Tour (2020)
- The ER Life Tour (2022)
He’s also performed at world-famous cannabis festivals such as Rock the Bells and Smokers Club Fest year after year. Berner maintains a busy touring schedule while balancing all his other ventures simultaneously.
Cookies Cannabis Brand & Business Empire
While grinding in rap for over a decade, Berner smartly reinvested his music profits into legal marijuana. In 2012, he opened the first Cookies dispensary location in San Francisco.
The concept combined his love for top-shelf cannabis strains with an exclusive lifestyle brand identity that instantly clicked in California. Demand for Cookies products exploded as the dispensary model proved hugely successful.
Over the past 10 years, under Berner’s leadership as CEO, Cookies has grown exponentially into one of the world’s most valuable cannabis companies. They now have dozens of dispensary storefronts, massive cultivation operations, distribution infrastructure and more.
Berner has also co-founded additional offshoot brands like:
In addition, Berner oversees GAGE – a public cannabis company traded on the Canadian stock exchange with a market cap approaching $350 million USD.
For his remarkable success fusing music, marijuana and business, Berner has rightfully earned the nickname The Emperor of Cannabis. His net worth likely eclipses over nine figures today judging by the valuation of his various entities.
Wife and Personal Life
Berner maintains his primary residence in Los Angeles but frequently travels between California and Arizona for his various cannabis ventures.
Romantically, he is currently believed to be single. Berner likes keeping most of his private affairs out of the public spotlight.
Information on children is unclear. However, there are unconfirmed suggestions he may have 1 or more kids from previous relationships.
Despite his massive success already, at only 41 years old, expect Berner’s profile as both a rapper and mogul to continue rising substantially.
Berner’s Estimated Net Worth
According to multiple reports, Berner’s current net worth adds up to an astounding $40 million as of 2023. The vast majority of this wealth comes from his Cookies/GAGE cannabis companies versus music income directly.
However with the recent expansion into the public markets, plus Cookies franchises launching worldwide – Berner’s fortune could easily triple over the next 5 years if momentum continues.
Official Links to Berner Online
Most Popular Songs by Berner
As both a seasoned solo act and prolific collaborator, Berner boasts many fan-favorite tracks and features over a twenty year career. His most streamed releases on Spotify include:
- “Snapbacks & Tattoos” Remix (with Driicky Graham) – 237M+ streams
- “Phone Tap” (with Mozzy) – 92M+ streams
- “Twenty One” (featuring ScHoolboy Q) – 79M+ streams
- “Koosh” (with B-Real) – 78M+ streams
- Wiz Khalifa feat. Berner – “Decisions” – 77M+ streams
Top 5 FAQs About Berner
Berner’s long tenure in rap along with his exploits as a cannabis mogul naturally elicit lots of fan questions. Here are 5 of the most frequently asked topics around the web:
Q: What nationality is Berner?
A: Berner has Mexican heritage on his father’s side, making him half Mexican (Source).
Q: How tall is Berner the rapper?
A: Berner’s height is estimated to be around 5 feet 8 inches based on various photos with him standing beside other artists.
Q: How much is Berner’s Cannabis Company Cookies worth?
A: According to Forbes, Cookies was valued at over $1.5 billion USD as of 2022, making it one of the world’s most valuable private cannabis corporations (Source).
Q: What strain of weed did Berner create?
A: Berner has cultivated several signature cannabis varieties over the years. Most notable is his Girl Scout Cookies (GSC) hybrid strain which birthed the Cookies empire itself (Source).
Q: Who shot Berner?
A: In 2016, it was widely reported Berner was hospitalized due to a gunshot injury. However, details around the actual incident remain unclear publicly (Source).
Conclusion
In summary, Berner has made a greater impact both in music and the cannabis space over the past 20 years than arguably any rapper or entrepreneur. Between platinum albums and a billion dollar business empire, his legacy as the original pioneer bridging these worlds is already historic.
Expect Cookies and Berner himself to continue flourishing even more in the years ahead. His recent partnership with grocery chain Gai’s Supermarkets signals massive mainstream expansion plans underway (Source).
So for anyone curious to learn about one of history’s most fascinating rags to riches journeys – look no further than The Emperor Himself – Mr. Cookies – Berner!