Images of Russell Simmons, Doug E Fresh and others are included in the "Masterminds Of Hip Hop" NFT project (Paybby). Paybbynft.com
Russell Simmons, a music mogul, is entering the NFT market through his "Masterminds of Hip Hop” collection.
Snoop Dogg, a rapper and NFT collector, was the founder of Def Jam Recordings. He also worked with other genre icons.
The NFT market was valued at $768 billion in recent times and is part the $2 trillion cryptocurrency market.
Check out more stories from Insider's business page.
Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Recordings, is entering the $800 billion NFT market. His project focuses on pioneers in hip-hop music and was curated by Snoop Dogg, a NFT collector and rapper.
The official sales of the "Masterminds of Hip Hop” collection will begin on October 10. Pre-sales are already available on Paybby's website, which is a digital startup bank and fintech company. Simmons also teamed up with Tokau - a sales platform for non-fungible tokens - on the project which is a two-part collection that will have at least 40 NFTs and will include never-before-released recordings.
DeCrypt quoted Simmons as saying that a "respect for hip hop's founding fathers needs a reboot" during a Zoom call Tuesday, where he discussed his motivations for entering the NFT market. According to CoinMarketCap, the market has seen a boom in popularity in the past year. Its valuation rose to $768 billion Wednesday.
The first 27 NFTs include fan cards that look like baseball cards and feature images of Chuck D, Simmons, and Doug E Fresh, as well as other artists and producers who helped to make hip-hop a global phenomenon.
Snoop Dogg and Simmons are just two of many celebrities who have entered the NFT market. Others include Katy Perry, the NBA team Golden State Warriors and Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO, who sold his first tweet as an NFT for $2.9million. The money was donated to charity. Snoop Dogg's explorations into NFTs were highlighted last month by his claim that he is behind a Twitter account called CozmoMedici.
NFTs are purchased by people who have the right to access their tokens on a Blockchain. Simmons' customers can pay with debit or credit cards, without having to buy and exchange crypto. This tactic has helped NBA Top Shot digital collectibles attract mainstream collectors.
Paybby CEO Hassan Miah stated that the "Masterminds of Hip Hop” collection is BSC-20 tokens on Binance Smart Chain. This was in response to a viewer who pointed out high Ethereum gas fees for NFTs, according to the DeCrypt report.
Simmons stated that many of the pioneering DJs and rappers in hip-hop have not received the financial rewards or accolades they deserve.
Simmons stated in June that "[this] is my chance use a new vehicle for revisiting and repaying these amazing artists while they're still living."
