By Jody Flanigan
Shawn “Keys” Chavez is a dynamic rap artist, a talented cannabis producer, and most of all a solid family man. Native to New Mexico, he carries a bloodline of Irish and Sephardic Jewish heritage. Self-taught for most of his life Shawn has overcome many obstacles to follow his passions. Whether making music or growing medical marijuana, he is constantly engaged in one of many endeavors. I was able to meet with him and learned that Shawn’s story is as unique as his art.
Struggles started early in life for Shawn’s family when his Mother (Carol Lynn Mckinney) was diagnosed with Multiple Scleroses (MS) in 1988, just one year after Shawn was born. Multiple sclerosis is an uncurable neurological disorder brought on by an overactive immune system that attacks the body’s nervous system. This causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. MS symptoms are variable and unpredictable. No two people have exactly the same symptoms, and each person’s symptoms can change or fluctuate over time. One person might experience only one or two of the possible symptoms while another person experiences many more. It is not uncommon to have symptoms of tingling, pain, cognitive changes, and weakness. Shawn’s mother endured these and many other symptoms from MS. Being the youngest of 5 siblings, Shawn grew up taking care of his mother alongside his brothers and sisters as the disease became more debilitating with each passing year. During this time, each family member looked inside themselves for strength and creativity.
Shawn was inspired by his older brother’s music collection. Hip hop really resonated with him through influences like Wu-Tang Clan, KRS-One, and Beastie Boys. The lyrics were poetry, and the beats were addictive. By the time he was in in 5th grade, Shawn was writing poetry about his own thoughts and feelings. The poems would evolve into lyrics and he would make up beats for them. This outlet helped Shawn find balance between his personal and home life. He could escape to within himself and started to become self-aware through the words he was writing. Raps and beats became a voice for Shawn’s strife and his Mother’s constant pain. Freestyle circles, and groups like the Taylor Ranch Hip Hop Heads helped “Keys” find that voice. Coming up through Ciphers and local clubs Shawn refined his talent with each performance. Eventually, he formed a band with fellow local artist Nick Fury called “Bandwidth with no Name” and performed throughout Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The band enjoyed a lot of success before splitting up in 2019.
Shawn has been raised around cannabis and was taught how to grow the plant by his Mother. Even at an early age he could see the benefits of the plant through the relief that his Mom experienced when she would use marijuana. “She used it as a medicine.” His family would grow Passion flowers next to their cannabis and mixed the two plants together for his Mom to smoke. This combination would give Shawn’s mom much needed relief from nausea and pain. He noticed that everyday flowers and cannabis grew very well together as if in harmony with each other. He adopted this approach to life and art; do it with harmony.
Cannabis has always been a part of Shawn’s life, so he ultimately moved into the legal cannabis business as a Harvest Manager for Seven Clover dispensary approximately four years ago. Shawn brought nine of his strains with him to the dispensary including Presidential Kush, Cherry Diesel, Blue Dream, and Whitefire OG. He is proud to be called the creator of the company’s Epic Purple Haze, which was named after his producer name, Epic Beats. “What rap artist wouldn’t want a strain of marijuana named after him?” Shawn is constantly developing new strains by crossing genetics, and is always striving for perfection. He got the idea for his Taste Buds clothing line from the Epic Purple Haze strain and created animated characters based on the different strains of cannabis that he grows. Each character is named after one of the strains and has its own personality. After trademarking, copywriting, and branding his characters, Shawn is in talks with distributing his Taste Buds hats, t-shirts, stickers, and masks through dispensaries in Colorado. Being a lifelong comic book fan, Shawn would welcome an opportunity to create a Taste Buds animated series based on his characters. You can view and find out more about these products on Instagram @Tastebudsclothing.
Shawn is always evolving, and he intends is to raise awareness about how cannabis can relieve some of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis more effectively than standard pharmaceuticals. Marijuana has been shown to ease pain, relieve nausea, and help with the anxiety that MS patients can experience. Shawn’s mother was coping with her diagnoses while singlehandedly raising five children. Accepting that her body had turned against her and that the disease would rule her life was unacceptable to Carol. She treated herself with medicine that she and her children grew themselves. “My Mom was Wiccan and believed in the power of natural medicine.” “The first time I ever saw my mother use cannabis, she was just starting to have real physical issues from her MS.” Carol managed to finish raising her family but was suffering physically. After Shawn’s mom lost the ability to walk, she continued to use cannabis to combat the depression that followed. Over time, the disease slowly progressed and Carol was admitted into a nursing home when Shawn was in his early 20s. This was a crucial but hard decision to make. The level of care she needed was something that was no longer manageable for the family on their own. Carol fought Multiple Sclerosis with everything she had for 32 years, but sadly she succumbed to the disease on December 17, 2019
Federally owned nursing homes do not allow medicinal or recreational cannabis for their residents. Nursing homes in states where medical cannabis is legal are not exempt from this rule. Drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five distinct categories or schedules depending upon the drug’s acceptable medical use and the drug’s abuse or dependency potential. The abuse rate is a determinate factor in the scheduling of the drug; for example, Schedule I drugs have a high potential for abuse and the potential to create severe psychological and/or physical dependence. As the drug schedule changes– Schedule II, Schedule III, etc., so does the abuse potential– Schedule V drugs represent the least potential for abuse. A Schedule I Narcotic is defined as; drugs, substances, or chemicals that have no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote. Since Marijuana is considered a Schedule I narcotic, it is not allowed in any institution that operates on federal funds.
Shawn has made it his mission to change that. His mother was in two different federally owned nursing homes during her last years and was almost overdosed with morphine on multiple occasions. Shawn watched helplessly as his mother was medicated with powerful opiates. Through constant use, she started to slowly slip deeper into the recesses of her own mind. Shawn would bring his mother CBD pills, tinctures, THC pills, edibles and anything he could think of to help her maintain a sound mind while her body was constantly deteriorating. These products were made from the plants that he grew, and offered his mother the only real sense of relief she could find in her final days “When my Mom had to go into the nursing home, CBD and THC products were the only thing that would bring her out of the morphine induced haze she was in most of the time.” He had seen the benefits of using cannabis with his own eyes and rejected the idea that elderly patients should not be able to choose their own treatments. Shawn is constantly trying to find new ways to spread awareness on how MS patients can benefit from using cannabis. Whether it be through his music or the cannabis he produces the goal is to break the stigma that surrounds the plant and the people he loves.
Cannabis can be broken down into two categories. There are plants that produce THC, and other plants that are rich in CBD. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the primary chemicals in marijuana, and it has psychoactive properties that cause the “high” of the drug. Another compound called cannabidiol (CBD) can also be found in Hemp plants and does not have psychoactive effects. There are many other components of marijuana, but most research to date has focused on these two. Shawn has seen throughout his life how both of these compounds can help people in times of poor mental and physical health. A large part of his music is about spreading that message. Cannabis events such as The Essie Awards are some of the best shows Shawn feels he can perform at, because he believes the audience is more receptive to new ideas and possibilities at these venues. “The doors that the Essie’s has opened for me is amazing. The people in this community have their arms open, and I can’t thank them enough for that.”
Cannabis has had such an impact in his own life that the next step is to share his knowledge with others.
He explained “With legalization, it is a beautiful thing to be able to explain to someone on the other side of the world how to train a plant without getting into trouble. I have always wanted to use different platforms like music and the internet as an educational tool to share how cannabis has helped me and my mother.” Shawn has begun a new phase in life and is excited to see what the future holds. He has teamed up with longtime love Cassie J, and the two have formed a duet called Venus N Virgo. They will be releasing multiple 5-track EPs sometime this coming winter and next spring. Shawn is proud of his accomplishments and wants to build on them. Most of all he wants to raise awareness on how cannabis can enhance the lives of people living with Multiple Sclerosis. You can follow Shawn on Instagram and hear new music @Therealshawnkeys.
