You may think Lenny Kravitz vibes when you first lay eyes on Tony Roby who goes by the stage name “Metro Blac”. Rest assured he is from the crib and a Bronzeville native. “I’m a big Harold Washington guy and big on the Civil Rights Movement and that is where my love of the music and my people came from,” said Metro. An all-around performer and creative Metro recently rocked the stage at the Promontory and released his EP The Metro Blac Experience available on Spotify. Metro shared that it’s his mother and sister who inspires him, “I’m looking to use my music as affirmations. I feel like in music we have allowed a lot of the wrong messages to take root in our minds. I like to create music that affirms and uplifts.” It was at the age of 21 he started to use marijuana to support his pain stemming from playing college football.
Metro is a master at marketing and a tenured sales professional who has found his place as a trailblazer on and off stage. “My wife and mother saw how passionate I was about cannabis and how it helped my health and wellness. They encouraged me to pursue a career in the cannabis industry. It took me about 2 years to secure a position at Cresco and now I work with about 40 accounts in wholesale and provide administrative needs for those accounts,” shared Metro.
His dope double life infuses cannabis and his creativity. As the curator and driving force behind Travel Agent, a concierge cannabis experience, Metro are marrying his passions of sales, music, and marijuana to create a vibe like none other.
“Travel Agent is a means to help people connect the cannabis community with the world as much as possible. Entertaining people is what I love to do,” said Metro.
Kristen H. is a budtender with a little over three years' experience in the adult-use sector and works with Metro to serve guests at the pop-up Zenco bar. Kristen shares “Metro Blac is bringing culture that the industry is lacking. Cannabis and hip hop go hand in hand and he’s doing it in a fun way.”
The ZenCo device is a game changer post covid. Travel Agent provides access to the pop up bar at events for a safe and classy consumption experience. “The biggest difference for guests with Travel Agent is that guests get to actually try the products and use the device, at a dispensary people can't touch any of the products,” shared JoJo who works for Mission Dispensary and does pop-up budtending for Travel Agent.
“It's a fancy way of smoking and people enjoy it, they may be a little confused at first but once I explain it they get it pretty quickly,” said JoJo.
The ZenCo device can run over $200 for clean smoke. Follow @themetroblac and @trvagent for hot music and dope vibes.
Dr. Mila Marshall is an environmental professional and journalist with a passion for advancing sustainability in all sectors. Her passion is directed towards urban food systems in segregated cities.