Remy Banks: 3 Things I Can't Smoke Without

Remy Banks is a Queens-bred rapper and longtime member of the World's Fair collective, known for a laid-back delivery and a deep loyalty to his borough. From early run-ins with the A$AP camp to a steady stream of solo projects, he's built a catalog that mirrors the borough that raised him — unhurried, specific, and rooted in local detail. That same eye for detail shows up the moment he starts breaking down what he smokes and why.

Remy Banks walks into Good Grades the way most Queens natives walk into anywhere in Queens — already at home. "It's your boy Remy Banks, representing Queens, New York," he says, settling in. "We here with Good Grades, and these are the three things I can't smoke without."

No table-setting, no warm-up. The whole interview clocks in under a minute, but every answer is loaded with the kind of specificity that separates a real smoker's checklist from a press-friendly one.

"It's your boy Remy Banks, representing Queens, New York."

The first essential is the flower itself, and Remy doesn't pick something generic. He pulls out a small batch from Banks's Bud — a strain called Beef and Broccoli — and immediately shouts out the grower.

"This is the beef and broccoli from Banks's Bud. Shout outs to my man Rocco for growing this. This is a New York City small batch grown here in the state. Can't do anything without this here."

It's a small detail with a big footprint. Picking a specific cultivar, naming the grower, and emphasizing that it's a New York small batch all point to the same thing: he's invested in the local supply chain. For a rapper from Queens, supporting a New York grower isn't a marketing line — it's the default.

"This is a New York City small batch grown here in the state."

Wrap conversation comes up second, and Remy keeps his answer flexible without being wishy-washy.

"Another essential — got my Backwoods here. It's my preference of smoke. Either these or some good leaf or some pearls, but yeah, I prefer these."

Backwoods are the headline; a fronto leaf or a pearl-style cone is the fallback. It's a very New York answer. The Backwood has been the borough's signature wrap for years, but the rise of fronto leaf and pre-rolled cones has expanded what a real smoker keeps in rotation. Remy's not loyal to a brand, he's loyal to a style — slow-burning, full-leaf-tobacco wraps that frame the flower instead of fighting it.

"Backwoods — it's my preference of smoke."

The third answer is the one that quietly steals the segment. Most artists name a lighter, a tray, or a strain. Remy names hand sanitizer.

"Another essential, hand sanitizer, because you got to make sure your hands are clean before you roll up, make sure your hands are clean after you smoke so you don't go wherever you're going with your fingertips smelling like resin and, you know, burnt up bud and stuff like that."

It's a smoker's-detail answer — the kind of thing only somebody who actually rolls would mention. Clean hands before the roll keeps the wrap from getting oily and the flower from picking up whatever you just touched. Clean hands after the session keep the rest of your day — the meeting, the meal, the train ride — from broadcasting where you've been. It's a small ritual, but it's the difference between somebody who smokes and somebody who has a smoke practice.

"Make sure your hands are clean before you roll up, make sure your hands are clean after you smoke."

There's a through-line in Remy's three picks that's easy to miss if you're listening too fast. The flower is grown in New York. The wrap is the one Queens has been rolling for a generation. And the third item — the sanitizer — is the kind of personal-grooming detail that comes from being out in the city, on trains and in studios, every day.

Pulling up to Good Grades fits the same logic. A Queens rapper, a Queens dispensary, a New York small-batch grower — the whole video is a small endorsement of doing it locally, from the bud to the buy.

Remy Banks' three things — Beef and Broccoli from Banks's Bud, Backwoods, and hand sanitizer — read like a checklist from somebody who's been rolling long enough to know what actually matters. Start with flower from a grower you trust. Use a wrap that frames the smoke instead of fighting it. And keep your hands clean enough that the session doesn't follow you into the rest of your day.

If you want to build out your own version, his is a clean blueprint: a small-batch New York strain, a slow-burning wrap, and the one ritual most smokers skip.

Watch the full interview below and explore more artist conversations in our Cannabis Culture hub.

"These are the three things I can't smoke without."