Runtz may have emerged from California, but its cultural identity expanded far beyond its original market. Atlanta played an important role in turning the strain into a recognizable name through hip-hop, viral marketing, streetwear and the growing demand for candy-forward cannabis. The city's influence helped transform Runtz from a cultivar into a broader branding movement.
California Origins, Atlanta Identity
According to the original account, Runtz traces back to a Gelato 33 bagseed rumor in California.
Atlanta helped turn its candy-forward flavor profile into a recognizable cultural identity.
The combination of sweet terpenes and rap marketing made Runtz particularly suited to internet culture.
The strain's influence eventually extended beyond its original genetic background.
2017: The Runtz Debut
Runtz debuted in 2017 through The Fire Society, Yung LB Litt and the Runtz crew at the Emerald Cup.
Its candy-sweet aroma and recognizable name helped establish its initial identity.
The name was lifted from Runts candy.
According to the original account, sales moved quickly following its introduction.
Yung LB and the Marketing Blueprint
Yung LB Litt, a rapper and co-founder, played an important role in building the Runtz identity.
He pushed the brand through music, exotic cannabis and the slogan:
"Runtz Yo Life Up."
The original account compares this strategy with Berner's Cookies blueprint.
Cannabis and music became connected parts of the same marketing approach.
The brand could move through songs, apparel, social media and cannabis releases.
May 2020: The Obama Runtz Moment
A major viral moment arrived in May 2020.
According to the original account, TheBigger_End posted a video featuring a man in Magnolia wearing a 4PF chain and claiming to have Obama Runtz.
The video included the quote:
"I aint know obama condoned shxt like that"
The clip went viral and eventually reached Yung LB.
What started as a street-level internet moment became an opportunity for the Runtz team to expand the brand's reach.
The Atlanta Rap Cosign
According to the original account, Yung LB moved within three days of the video's circulation.
He flew the woman associated with the viral Obama Runtz moment to the Bay Area to shoot the "Obomba Runtz" music video.
The project also involved DollasUp Nero.
The account reports that the team subsequently moved more than 20,000 Obama Runtz T-shirts.
Rappers including Money Man and Trapboy Freddy helped amplify the movement.
The combination of a viral video, music release and merchandise transformed the original moment into a recognizable cannabis branding event.
The Obama Runtz Rebrand
The video sparked the transition from Runtz to Obama Runtz.
The music video helped push the identity further, while Obama Runtz mylar bags circulated as part of the branding wave.
The episode demonstrated how quickly a cannabis name could spread when connected to internet culture and music.
Atlanta's Candy Leaders
Another important part of the story involved Atlanta figures associated with the candy-forward movement.
The original account identifies Sharklato and J.Pizzle BDE of Jokes Up as influential figures in steering the city's candy wave.
Sharklato's connection with Yung LB, alongside the relationship involving Lil Baby and 4PF, helped push the movement.
Together, these connections helped maintain Atlanta's influence during the emerging candy era.
Runtavious: Atlanta's Cannabis Identity
Runtz developed significant demand in Atlanta.
According to the original account, candy-forward cannabis became so desirable that having candy meant having something sought after.
According to the original account, the city also developed a nickname for Runtz enthusiasts:
"Runtavious."
The nickname reflected how deeply the strain had entered Atlanta's cannabis language.
2020: Strain of the Year
In 2020, Leafly named Runtz its Strain of the Year.
The recognition connected the variety's cultural reputation with broader cannabis industry attention.
Runtz had become more than a regional favorite.
The Candy Era
Atlanta helped amplify Runtz into a broader cannabis branding movement.
According to the original account, brands began developing identities around renamed Runtz varieties.
Candy-forward genetics became increasingly desirable, with similar profiles appearing across markets from Los Angeles to New York.
The account credits the Jokes Up Exotix movement with pioneering this direction.
Runtz also became one of the most renamed and repackaged varieties since the OG era.
Once Atlanta embraced candy, candy terpenes became a standard expectation in the market.
Legacy: Atlanta Made Candy a Language
Runtz began with reported California genetics, but its cultural influence grew through different communities and markets.
Atlanta played an important role through Yung LB's marketing, the Obama Runtz viral moment, rap connections and the city's embrace of candy-forward cannabis.
Its 2020 Leafly Strain of the Year recognition further established its position.
The influence extended beyond one genetic line. Atlanta helped make candy flavor a language for cannabis branding, influencing how new varieties were named, marketed and presented.
YouTube Video
Sources
nuggnotes. "Atlanta Got Runtz'd: How the South Made Candy Go Viral." Instagram, 2 Feb. 2026, https://www.instagram.com/p/DUQvsVuAFby/.
The original nuggnotes post — primary source for the Obama Runtz fly-out, merchandise figures, J.Pizzle, the Runtavious nickname and Atlanta scene details as the account presents them.
"The Leafly Strain of the Year for 2020 is—Runtz!" Leafly News, 2020, https://www.leafly.ca/news/strains-products/runtz-2020-leafly-strain-of-the-year.
Supports: Runtz named Leafly Strain of the Year 2020; Runtz is a Gelato × Zkittlez cross; it debuted in December 2017, with Yung LB first debuting it at the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa, CA; per Cookies, the Runtz crew was Ray, Nick, and Yung LB; "2020 became the year of Obama Runtz."
"Here Are All the Runtz Strains We Know So Far." Weedmaps News, 2 May 2022, https://weedmaps.com/news/2022/05/where-did-runtz-strains-come-from/.
Supports: Ray Bama and partner Nick crossed Cookies' Gelato with Dying Breed Seeds' Zkittlez; the trio with rapper Yung LB became the Runtz Crew; the soft premiere at the December 2017 Santa Rosa Emerald Cup (three pounds of Runtz, 1,000 t-shirts); Yung LB "coined the catchphrase 'Runtz yo life up'" and marketed it through lyrics; "In 2020, we saw the viral sensation of Obama Runtz."
"Obama Runtz Is Trending, Cannabis Twitter Is Having A Blast." HipHopWired, 20 May 2020, https://hiphopwired.com/playlist/obama-runtz-strain-twitter-reactions/100.
Supports: the viral video itself, in coverage dated May 20, 2020 — a clip shared by Twitter user @MoolLifeMb; the speaker's lines about someone "walking around Magnolia talking about he got Obama Runtz" and wearing "a fat ass 4PF chain" (4PF = Lil Baby's label).
"Atlanta's Cannabis Kings: Sharklato, Real 1, GasHouse." Leafly News, https://www.leafly.ca/news/industry/atlanta-cannabis-sharklato-real-1-gashouse.
Supports the Atlanta candy scene: Sharklato is an Atlanta brand by CEO Yung Marley; producer Sonny Digital introduced Marley to Yung LB, "the CEO of Joke's Up and CMO of Runtz"; Marley credits LB as his branding inspiration and says "I was the first person to bring Runtz to the South and put it on the map."
"Yung LB – Songs, Events and Music Stats." Viberate, https://www.viberate.com/artist/songs/yung-lb-top-songs/.
Supports the music-driven marketing: "Runtz Yo Life Up" is listed among Yung LB's standout tracks, and "Obomba Runtz" is a real Yung LB song.
0 comments