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Money and Hip-Hop go hand-in-hand with each other. It’s the one thing rappers constantly drop bars about, but due to tours stopping because of the pandemic, bags were blocked, so Hip-Hop stars and had to get creative, and that’s where NFTs come in.
Now the million-dollar question is, what are NFTs? NFTs are short for non-fungible tokens and are described as a one-of-kind collectible and serve as their own proof of authenticity. Basically, anything you’re trying to sell can be turned into an NFT and purchased through blockchain. Now, when we say anything can be sold as an NFT, we mean ANYTHING. For example, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s first tweet sold for a whopping $2.8 million.
Brooklyn filmmaker Alex Ramírez-Mallis took things even further, selling his fart for $85. “If people are selling digital art and GIFs, why not sell farts?” he told the New York Post.
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When it comes to Hip-Hop, rappers have opted to sell more tangible items. Some of their NFT offerings will leave you scratching your head, but regardless they did sell. Hit the gallery below to see 10 of your favorite artists’ contributions to the world of NFTs.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty
1. Soulja Boy
We’re not sure if Soulja Boy was the first rapper to sell his tweets as an NFT, but the groundbreaking artist did, in fact, just that. He used digital marketing place Valuables by Cent to sell his tweet, asking how to sell his tweet as an NFT for 0.07475 Ethereum or $1,288.00. He also sold four additional tweets for $796.71, earning $2,084.71.
2. Quavo, Lil Baby, 2 Chainz and Jack Harlow
The four Hip-Hop stars teamed up with Bleacher Report to drop an NFT collection on the digital online marketplace OpenSea during NBA All-Star Weekend 2021. According to Bleacher Report, “four custom-designed basketballs that mix music, culture, and sport with innovation” were released as part of the collection. Each rapper received their own individual silver NFT out of the 150 minted and was sold for .4 Ethereum—about $715. They also received gold NFTs that they could present as “10 of 10” and were able to put them up for auction. After Bleacher Reports’ gold auction came to an end, the tokens fetched more than $591,000. 2 Chainz’s No. 1 of 10 sold for 38 Ethereum or $68,030.
Azealia Banks decided to sell an audio sex tape featuring herself and ex-fiance Ryder Ripps. According to Business Insider sex tape initially sold for $17,000 as an NFT, later being resold for over $260 million. Who knew people cared that much to hear what it sounds like in Azealia Banks in bedroom?
4. MF Doom
The late rapper MF Doom was still able to bring in some money even after his passing, thanks to NFTS. Per NME, the enigmatic rapper’s widow, Jasmine Dumile, partnered with record label Rhymesayers Entertainment and digital marketplace Illust Space to auction off several signed augmented reality versions of his signature mask. Each of the seven masks was able to purchased through NFTs and was expected to fetch between $15,000 and $75,000. The starting price for one of the masks is 200 ETH, about $338,000. Ten percent of the proceeds go to MF Doom’s estate in the form of royalties to fund future projects.
5. Ja Rule
Fyre Festival is one of the most epic failures in music festival history. Queens rapper Ja Rule who was a part of putting it together, is looking to make lemonade out of lemons through NFTs. Newsweek reported he hopped on the NFT wave to sell a 2017 painting of the Fyre Festival logo by Tripp Derrick Barnes on the platform Flipkick. We’re not sure if that sits well with those hoodwinked and bamboozled when they attended the struggle festival.
6. Nipsey Hussle x Marathon Clothing x Mythical Gaming
Before NFTs popped off, Nipsey Hussle was one of the few Hip-Hop artists well invested in technology before his tragic death. The marathon continues as Hussle’s Marathon Clothing announced its first NFT collection with Mythical Games. Last month, Mythical Games announced the release of limited-edition Blankos and accessories that are also playable NFTs that can be customized, upgraded, and sold to other players for real money in the Mythical Marketplace.
Based on the Marathon Clothings reaction following the release, it was a success, and you can definitely expect the innovative and tech-forward fashion brand to drop more NFTs.
7. Jim Jones
Jim Jones is one of Hip-Hop’s most prominent entrepreneurs and doesn’t miss an opportunity to hop on a wave if he sees a possibility to make some money. The Dipset co-founder also got in on the NFT wave turning his expensive jewelry into an NFT investment and even tripled the price.
8. Jeezy
Jeezy has come a long way from his boyz n da hood days. The rapper dipped his toes into the NFT craze by turning his iconic snowman logo into a digital token. The Atlanta Hip-Hop star teamed up with Oasis Digital to design several limited pieces that featured audio Jeezy explaining the story behind the logo.
No surprise Rick Ross got into the NFT game. The MMG captain made NFT history when he teamed up with luxury car designer Rich B. Caliente to auction off a hand-painted 2021 Porsche 911 Carrera. The auction was a first because no one offered a vehicle at the time. The auction took place during the 2021 Bitcoin Conference in Miami in June. The winner received a digital art NFT plus ownership of the actual vehicle and the title to the physical Porsche. Ross just recently announced another NFT ahead of the upcoming Art Basel festival.
10. Waka Flocka Flame
Waka Flocka Flame made his entry into the world of NFTs by partnering up with the digital art platform Satoshi Art to bring a 100 percent minority-owned NFT market. He also recently just announced his wearable NFT merch that is ready for the Metaverse quickly sold out. You can bet on Waka Flocka Flame doing more in the NFT space just based on the reception his offerings have received.
