Cannabis and music always seem to find each other, seamlessly.
System of a Down’s Shavo Odadjian combines the two. For Odadjian, passion is not only necessary, but an intrinsic part of every project he pursues.
Odadjian was 5 when he and his family moved from Armenia to Los Angeles. One of his earliest influences was the vivid backdrop of East Hollywood, which was the perfect place to explore skateboarding and punk culture. He grew up around the corner of the legendary punk venue, the Natural Fudge Café. The club introduced Odadjian to legendary punk bands Minor Threat and The Misfits.
His curiosity was piqued.
Odadjian solidified his legacy in the music industry in the early 2000s as the bassist for System of a Down. While he began as the band’s manager, Odadjian had a special connection to the bass guitar. A self-taught musician, he moved over to bass in the mid-’90s.
While System of a Down became a key component of the heavy metal genre, Odadjian was eager to explore other interests. Loving what he pursued allowed success to be fully within reach.
In 2018 Odadjian launched 22Red, which promotes skateboarding, music, and cannabis — all of which exist synergistically. 22Red sells quality cannabis with creative passion, and offers a glimpse into Odadjian’s personality. A lover of numerology, the number “22” has always been significant to him. Odadjian also has synesthesia, the rare phenomenon that results in sensory crossovers. For Odadjian, the number 22, simply felt red.
Odadjian’s love of high-quality cannabis began in the early 2000s during a trip to Amsterdam while on tour with System of a Down. Through a friend, he met Arjan Roskam, the legendary cannabis entrepreneur who created cannabis classics like Super Silver Haze and White Widow. It was then that Odadjian became a true cannabis connoisseur.
“I realized, it’s not about getting high. It’s about the taste, the look, and the feeling that each strain gives you,” he said.
Odadjian personally prefers a sativa, or a sativa-dominant hybrid when it comes to smoking.
To him, it’s the perfect way to stimulate creativity. And in a cannabis market that is dominated by indicas and hybrids, Odadjian hopes to bring more sativa strains to the forefront. And Odadjian is eager to hear from his customer base as well. “I’d like people to DM @22RedArizona, or even DM me, and let us know if you’d like more sativas, and then I’ll make the move” he said.
22Red has since become a top-selling brand in the Arizona cannabis market, particularly its prerolls, which are available as premium flower or infused with ice hash rosin. 22Red’s current strain catalog features premium strains like Hippie Crasher, Jealousy and Grape Durban, along with 22Red’s personal creations, Red Pops and Brain Fizz. Apart from flower, 22Red also creates live resin and live rosin concentrates, with rosin also being available in half- gram vapes.
But beyond launching 22Red, there is a continued desire to pursue music. His next project, Seven Hours After Violet, which is an acronym for his first name, is a return to what makes him tick artistically.
Over the last few years, Odadjian has explored music genres outside of heavy metal, collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA. While hip-hop and heavy metal may seem worlds apart, the ingenuity and cultural commentary of the two meld together better than one might think.
As it turned out, RZA and Odadjian lived close to each other, and began hanging out frequently.
“He’s a genius. Like out of this world. I’ve always looked up to him. I was a fan, prior to being a friend. I didn’t know he thought the same. We had this mutual respect, so we started making music together,” Odadjian said.
While the album the pair created was never publicly released, Odadjian enjoyed exploring hip-hop from his own creative lens. Fueled by a multitude of influences around him, Odadjian briefly stepped away from his heavy metal roots. Whether it was hip-hop, or EDM, Odadjian was eager to create. And through this exploration, Odadjian met music producer Morgoth Beatz, who encouraged him to create his first rock solo album.
And Seven Hours After Violet was born. “It’s kind of like my return to rock since the last System of a Down album. And it feels so natural to do that. It’s exhilarating. If you’re an artist and you do something that’s in your DNA, and you haven’t done it for a long time, there’s an emotion behind it,” Odadjian explained.
Odadjian’s new project will celebrate the balance between melodic tracks and ones that are a bit more hardcore. “We have both on the record. We’ve got like the most extreme deathcore to the lightest melodic song that you could play for your mom,” he said.
Seven Hours After Violet’s debut album will be released on Oct. 11. Their debut singles “Paradise” and “Radiance” are available to stream now. 22Red is available in Arizona, California and Nevada.
22 RED
Follow 22Red on Instagram: @22Red,
Follow 22Red on Twitter: 22RedLA
Shop 22Red at these Tucson dispensaries:
Nature Med
Botanica
Curaleaf
Downtown Dispensary & D2
Follow Seven Hours After Violet on Instagram: @sevenhoursafterviolet
Follow Shavo Odadjian on Instagram: @shavoodadjian
