How a New Jersey teenager became one of the key keepers and distributors behind the OG Kush cut that helped reshape Los Angeles cannabis.
Jersey to Los Angeles
Josh D grew up in New Jersey before moving to Los Angeles in 1987 at age 14.
By 17, he says he was already moving cannabis and building relationships throughout the city.
Los Angeles would eventually become the environment where Josh and his circle preserved, scaled and popularized the cut that became known as OG Kush.
The Florida Cut
According to Josh and his circle’s firsthand account, Matt “Bubba Kush” Berger returned from Florida in 1996 with several cannabis cuts.
Most reportedly died.
One survived and thrived in their Los Angeles grow room. That plant became the cut they knew as OG Kush.
Josh has not claimed that he bred or invented the original genetics. His role was as a keeper, grower and distributor of the plant after it reached Los Angeles.
The Trap House Era
During the mid-1990s, Josh and Matt shared an early Los Angeles grow house.
The setup was small, including an indoor room and a trapdoor closet lined with lights. Once the surviving cut began producing flower, Josh’s existing network gave it an immediate market.
Demand grew quickly.
The plant itself became valuable, but so did the system Josh and his circle built around producing it repeatedly.
What “OG” Meant
As Kush became a more widely used name, Josh says his circle began adding “OG” to distinguish their plant from other Kush-labeled flower.
Different explanations later emerged for the initials, including “Ocean Grown” and “Original Gangster.”
According to Josh and people in his immediate circle, however, OG meant “Original.”
The name was meant to identify the original cut they were working with as other versions began appearing.
Scaling OG Across Los Angeles
Josh and his network expanded beyond a single room.
According to his account, the group eventually operated dozens of grow houses across Los Angeles, filled with lights, tables and repeated OG runs.
Josh also developed a nutrient regimen and cultivation plan that could be repeated across locations.
By 2000, the demand for OG had become strong enough that high-quality indoor flower could command extraordinary prices. Josh says OG reached as high as $8,000 per pound.
That helped push Los Angeles further into the emerging market for premium indoor cannabis.
The Bay Area Run
In 1997, a member of the circle reportedly brought OG north for a Bay Area smoke-off.
According to the firsthand story, the flower performed extremely well and a cutting was left behind.
That moment is credited within Josh’s account as an early step in OG Kush’s movement into Northern California.
By the end of the decade, premium Los Angeles-grown OG was commanding prices that reflected its scarcity and reputation.
OG Becomes Culture
Los Angeles hip-hop helped amplify the strain.
Brett of Wonderbrett connected the flower with people including B-Real and Kenji of Cypress Hill, while artists such as Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Xzibit became associated with the growing demand for OG.
The clone was no longer just circulating among growers and buyers.
It was becoming part of Los Angeles culture.
Bubba Kush
The same network also became tied to another legendary Kush line.
According to the account, seeds produced from Bubba × OG eventually gave rise to Pre-98 Bubba Kush.
That placed OG and Bubba Kush within the same wider Los Angeles cultivation circle during a period when several of California’s most influential clone-only strains were taking shape.
From Underground to Josh D Farms
Josh has consistently framed his role as preservation rather than invention.
In 2018, he launched Josh D Farms, later scaling the brand with Calyx Peak.
In 2019, the operation won multiple Mixed Light awards at The Emerald Cup, including placements for Ghost OG, Dynasty and Motor Breath.
The transition brought a name built in underground cultivation into California’s licensed cannabis industry.
Legacy
Josh D did not claim to create OG Kush from seed. His significance came from preserving, cultivating, scaling and helping spread the cut that reached his Los Angeles circle in the 1990s.
His network helped move OG from a small indoor room into trap houses across Los Angeles, premium markets in Northern California and eventually music, branding and legal cannabis.
From a New Jersey teenager to one of the central keepers of OG Kush, Josh D helped turn a guarded clone into a foundation of modern California cannabis.
SOURCES:
- Bobrow, Warren. “Josh Del Rosso, Founder and Managing Director of Josh D Farms.” Forbes, 21 Dec. 2018. Firsthand interview confirming Josh D’s role with OG Kush, the Florida lineage, his cultivation work & that “OG” meant “Original” to his crew.
- Devine, Jimi. “OG Kush: A Quarter Century of Gas.” LA Weekly, 17 Apr. 2020. Covers Josh D’s preservation of OG Kush, its spread through Los Angeles & the cultivar’s impact on Southern California indoor cannabis culture.
- “An Epoch of OG: The OG Kush Family Genealogy.” Leafly, 20 Apr. 2024. Documents the 1996 Florida-to-LA handoff, Matt Berger, Josh D, the 1997 Bay Area trip, Bubba Kush & OG reaching roughly $8,000 per pound by the early 2000s.
- A., Aron. “The Story of OG Kush: How Wonderbrett’s Grow Fueled Dr. Dre’s ‘2001’ Sessions & Beyond.” HotNewHipHop, 22 Nov. 2022. Firsthand Wonderbrett interview connecting Josh D’s cut to Brett Feldman, B-Real, Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre & LA studio culture.
- Josh D. “The OG Kush Story.” Josh D OG Kush. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026. Josh’s own archive places OG Kush’s arrival in LA in 1996, a 1997 San Francisco competition, early LA grow houses & his role preserving the original cut.
- “The Emerald Cup.” Ascendancy Strains. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026. Records Josh D’s 2019 Mixed Light placements: 1st Ice Cream Cake, 5th Ghost OG, 7th Dynasty OG & 10th Motor Breath.
- Josh D Himself Via Instagram DM Messages
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