Peddling NFTs is the new black. Non-fungible token trading volume hit an astonishing $10.67 billion last quarter, according to analytics platform DappRadar. The pandemic was a steroid injection to the entire tech industry, but particularly the NFT market. In the darkest days of the virus, digital art served as a stand-in for physical attendance at art galleries, and the trend persists. We now live in an era where a LeBron James clip can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And many of the most influential players in the NFT game just happen to be rappers. Rappers are even releasing digital tracks as NFTs, like this one by NFT artist Rich Hackman.
The easiest way for an artist to stay relevant nowadays in the pandemic world is to endorse an NFT. It is not inconceivable that hip hop artists endorsing crypto and NFTs today might be future whales. Eminem is in the game. So is “The Game” himself. Soulja Boy is a new convert to the church of rap NFTs. Lil Baby and 2 Chainz have both released collections. Lil Uzi plunged Eternal Beings NFT prices after pulling out of his deal, which suggests the growing clout of rappers in this space. Russell Simmons is among the most serious collectors. But of all the hip hop artists in the NFT game, Snoop Dogg is considered the most bearish with an NFT collection estimated at $17 million. And just last month, he sold 1,000 NFT passes for a private Ethereum Metaverse party, which might seem a bit ridiculous, but a clever way of leveraging the power of celebrity.
The Snoop Dogg NFT beat is a busy space. As far as rap NFTs go, Snoop is the biggest and most vocal player in the game, owning dozens of pieces of digital art. Snoop Dogg recently announced that he was “Cozomo de’ Medici,” the man behind the @CozomoMedici NFT influencer Twitter account (with tens and thousands of followers even before Snoop announced his participation). “Sharing tales & insights from the wild world of NFTs” is how he described the microblogging account’s mission. It is an elegant play on names as the Medici Family – famous and infamous patrons of the early art scene – had one of the greatest art collections in history, dating back to the 15th century.
And that’s not all Snoop Dogg has released – what else? – “Snoop Dogge coins”! Cashing in on the growing popularity of Doge coins (and the irresistible hip-hop lure of language play), Snoop found the perfect way to combat the pandemic isolation blues. His Crypto.com/NFT is titled “A Journey with the Dogg” which it dropped in April. It is a collection of Snoop Dogg’s memories including the original track “NFT.” “I’ve seen the game change over the years from analog to digital and I’m always happier when the technology lets the fans get to connect with the artists,” Snoop Dogg noted. “NFT’s are an amazing innovation and it is an honor to do my first drop with Crypto.com/NFT.”
