Russell Simmons, CEO of Def Jam Recordings, is entering the roughly $800 billion NFT market with a campaign focused on leaders in the hip hop music industry, created in collaboration with musician and NFT collector Snoop Dogg.
In addition to Simmons and Snoop Dogg, other well-known figures have entered the NFT market, such as singer Katy Perry, NBA team the Golden State Warriors, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million. He then gave the money to a worthy cause. Snoop Dogg’s forays into the realm of NFTs were revealed last month when he claimed to be the creator of the popular NFT account “CozmoMedici” on Twitter.
With presales now underway on the Paybby website, a start-up digital bank, and fintech business, the “Masterminds of Hip Hop” collection will be available to the public on October 10. As part of the initiative, Simmons has partnered with Tokau, a non-fungible token sales platform, to create a two-part collection containing at least 40 NFTs and previously unreleased recordings.
The first set of 27 NFTs contains fan cards that look like baseball cards and include pictures of musicians and producers like Chuck D, Doug E. Fresh, and others that helped launch hip hop as a global sensation from its humble beginnings in the Bronx, New York City.
