NFTs

Doja Cat’s First NFT Collection Comes Through Her Own Marketplace

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The world of digital collectibles known as NFTs have been going strong since taking off a few weeks back, and the latest musical act to get in on it is Doja Cat. The singer announced the launch of her own curated NFT marketplace, called Juicy Drops, as well as the debut of her first NFT collection, which arrives this Friday, April 23.

The Juicy Drops marketplace is a collaboration with Intellctable Holdings, a new NFT-focused company founded by 20-year music executive Shannon Schlappi. The marketplace’s first official drop features a collection of NFTs made in collaboration with toy designer BOOMTRONIC. Doja’s NFTs, which are inspired by her performance at last month’s Grammy Awards, sports a collection of 3-D digital graphics that includes a spinning, metallic Doja image in a gilded frame, as well as an image of her cat Raymus. The collection comes in six different colors with varying tiers of available quantities and price points. For instance, there’s a very rare “Metallic” tier with three different rarities and a “Flavored” tier with three additional rarities. Buyers who collect all six will earn a chance to be rewarded with a very rare “Mystery” tier that will not be for sale.

Doja spoke about the new venture in a press release. “I’m helping to launch my NFT company so that I can actually own and control my art,” she wrote. “I want to be able to make all decisions related to my creative vision and help other artists do the same. My ownership also allows me to direct how we can give back to causes that I truly believe in.”

The Weeknd Is Hosting An NFT Auction And Selling An Unreleased Song

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After Grimes made $6 million in one day for selling a collection of digital art as NFTs, musicians have been following suit and trying to break into the cryptocurrency art business. Artists like Diplo, Rico Nasty, and Halsey have released artwork as NFTs and now, The Weeknd is the latest to get into the game by hosting an NFT auction.

On Wednesday, The Weeknd officially announced his cryptocurrency auction, which he had previously teased. Items that will be up for sale include exclusive digital artwork and even an unreleased song.

About his decision to join the NFT marketplace The Weeknd said:

“Blockchain is democratizing an industry that has historically been kept shut by the gatekeepers. I’ve always been looking for ways to innovate for fans and shift this archaic music biz and seeing NFT’s allowing creators to be seen and heard more than ever before on their terms is profoundly exciting. I intend to contribute to this movement and can see that very soon it will be weaved into the music industry’s mechanics”

Echoing The Weeknd’s statement, Nifty Gateway Co-Founder Duncan Cock-Foster said: “The Weeknd’s entry into the NFT space marks a seminal moment in NFT history. One of the most influential R&B singers of our generation creating in this new medium is huge validation for the entire NFT space. We’re thrilled to present this unique, beautiful collection to the world.”

Check out a preview of The Weeknd’s NFT auction items above.

The sale starts 4/3 at 2 p.m. EST on Nifty Gateway. Find more information here.

‘SNL’ Let Pete Davidson And Jack Harlow Explain NFTs In Another Eminem Parody

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As confusing and head-scratching as it might be from afar, NFTs continue to become more popular in the digital world. From the sports world to the music and art world, creators and consumers are taking advantage of the opportunity to respectively sell and own a digitally exclusive piece of art. For those who are still trying to grasp the new concept of NFTs, however, Saturday Night Live tapped Pete Davidson and recent musical guest Jack Harlow to give an explainer about the growing form digital cryptocurrency.

The sketch takes place in a fictional classroom where students have just finished listening to a lecture from the Secretary Of Treasury Janet Yellen, who is played by Kate McKinnon. Pete Davidson takes advantage of her presence to ask a question. Soon, the beat from Eminem’s 2000 hit, “Without Me” begins playing in the background and, just like the Detroit rapper did in the song’s music video, Davidson is seen rocking a Robin superhero costume.

He asked what an NFT is through a rapid-fire rap that, all in all, left everyone in the room confused. Despite help from Chris Redd, who was an obvious Dr. Dre lookalike, they failed to receive an answer to the question. Thankfully, Jack Harlow, who played a nosy janitor, stepped into the classroom to give a more digestible explanation of NFTs with some raps of his own.

Check out the sketch in the video above.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rico Nasty Announces Shes Selling A Clip Of Her ‘OHFR?’ Video As An NFT

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In the last few weeks, everyone from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to toilet paper brand Charmin have been talking about NFTs. NFTs, which stand for Non-fungible tokens, are a way for creators to make a profit off their digital content using blockchain technology. Several musicians have already gotten a jump start on the trend, and Rico Nasty is now the latest.

On Friday, Rico Nasty announced that she’ll be teaming up with her “OHFR?” video creator Don Allen III to sell artwork from the video as an NFT. Not only will the owner of the NFT get to boast ownership of the clip, but they’ll also receive the authenticated physical hammer seen in the video, signed by the rapper herself.

Rico Nasty isn’t the first musician to join the NFT marketplace. Grimes was one of the first to sell her artwork as an NFT, raking in $6 million in just one day. Diplo, Halsey, and Post Malone have also recently sold NFTs.

The NFT will be made available for bidding on SuperRare starting March 22 at 9 am EST, followed up by a conversation with Rico Nasty on Clubhouse. Join the discussion here and watch Rico Nasty’s “OHFR?” video above.

Nightmare Vacation is out now via Atlantic/Sugar Trap. Get it here.

Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Elon Musk Made A Club-Ready Song About NFTs And Is Selling It As An NFT

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It’s only been a few weeks since “NFT” became the new buzzword, and many people have already capitalized on them. These non-fungible tokens are being used to sell digital artwork at a steep price. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is selling the first-ever tweet as an NFT and Grimes made $6 million in one day by selling her artwork on an NFT marketplace. Now following in Grimes’ footsteps, Elon Musk is breaking into the NFT industry through music.

The Tesla CEO and billionaire released an EDM track this week about NFTs, which he’s selling as an NFT. It’s only fitting that the track is techno, as Musk recently officially dubbed himself the “Technoking of Tesla.” The song itself mostly instrumental, but it does have a few NFT-related lyrics: “NFT for your vanity / Computers never sleep / It’s verified / It’s guaranteed.” Just hours after the song was posted for sale on Valuables, a website hosted by Cent, the highest bid was already for $1.1 million.

While the billionaire is trying to capitalize on the NFT craze, some of his followers are joining him. “I’m selling this screenshot of Elon’s song he’s selling about NFTs as an NFT as an NFT,” one user jokingly wrote underneath the song.

Surprisingly, Musk is no stranger to music-making. Of course, it’d be hard not to be if your partner was Grimes. In early 2020, Musk made his EDM debut with the rhythmic track “Don’t Doubt Ur Vibe,” a follow-up to his heavily-AutoTuned rap single “RIP Harambe.”

Listen to Elon Musk’s NFT song above.