The NFT craze is becoming widespread and has got a lot of people talking.
Several artists, as well as celebrities, have been caught by the NFT wave, and from all indications, many are set to join. Over the last 3 months, we’ve seen a wave of artists as well as musicians, footballers etc joining the new frenzy.
What are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens are one-of-a-kind digital assets or collectibles produced with blockchain technology. The blockchain, which is also used by cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, establishes a permanent, publicly accessible record of decentralised data that is time-stamped.
NFTs, or nifties, are digital representations of real-world artifacts such as art, music, in-game goods, and videos. They are often encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos and are bought and sold online, mostly with bitcoin.
They are often purchased with the cryptocurrency Ether or in US dollars, and all transactions are recorded on the blockchain. While everyone can look at the NFTs, only the buyer has the privilege of purchasing them.
How does NFTs work?
NFTs, like cryptocurrencies, are traded on specialized platforms. The most well-known NFT marketplace is OpenSea. A sale does not always imply the transfer of the token’s described object.
For example, NFTs of well-known paintings have been sold, but the buyer does not receive the picture. The certificate of ownership of the NFT, which is registered on the blockchain, is what changes hands. The certificate must be stored in a digital wallet, which can come in a variety of formats.
Metamask, a free internet browser plugin, or a secure physical device can be used to access the wallet. It could also be as basic as a printed code on a sheet of paper. To acquire an NFT, the wallet must have enough of the necessary cryptocurrency — for example, if the person is buying a token on the Ethereum blockchain, the wallet must have enough ether (ETH).
It is also feasible to build, or “mint,” your own NFT with a little technological know-how.
Finally, NFTs are digital contracts that contain certain rules, such as the quantity of copies accessible for purchase.
5 musicians you never knew joined the NFT craze
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg dropped his first NFT collection on the 25th of November 2021 after teaming up with the digital artist Coldie. His first NFT collection, “Decentral Eyes Dogg,” was auctioned off on the NFT marketplace SuperRare and ended on December 3rd, 2021.
Snoop Dogg’s Cozomo de’ Medici pseudonym is a great NFT collector, however, the Bored Ape Yacht Club was oddly missing from his collection. The rapper jumped right in, partnering with MoonPay to purchase a Bored Ape, as well as a Bored Ape Kennel Club companion and two Mutant Apes, in December.
Eminem
Eminem first plunged into NFTs in April 2021 when he launched ‘Shady Con.’ He didn’t stop there but made a major buy in January 2022 when he bought Bored Ape Yacht Club #9055 for $452K, making his NFT collection 166. Surprisingly, his Ape has a lot of similarities to him, including the same style of the cap he wears in real life.
Weeks before Eminem’s team came out to negotiate the purchase for around $452,000 in ETH, the previous owner had tweeted about the similarities.
Meek Mill
Meek Mill also joined the NFT craze in November 2021. The rapper released his final Dreamchasers mixtape — the fifth installment in his series — as an NFT. MoonPay has purportedly enlisted him as another rapper to promote its NFT concierge service.
MoonPay bought Bored Ape #6877 for almost $245,000 in ETH on January 1 and then transferred it to another wallet. Meek Mill was later caught on his phone showing it off while sitting next to BAYC holder Lil Baby. As of this writing, Meek has yet to change his Twitter image to his Bored Ape, but the number of MoonPay-backed celebrities is increasing.
Justin Beiber
Justin Beiber joined the NFT in December 2021 under the Inbetweeners community. On January 29, the international music sensation jumped in with Bored Ape #3001 for a whooping 500 ETH ($1.3 million).
Crypto influencers like Gmoney and Farokh believe he overpaid, although it’s possible Bieber simply liked the look of this Ape with common characteristics. Bieber, who has 114 million Twitter followers, posted the image to his Instagram account using words from his hit “Lonely.” He also has NFTs from Doodles and World of Women, among other ventures, in his wallet.
Lil Baby
Lil Baby is one of the latest celebrities to score a high-end non-fungible token, joining the ranks of other notables (NFT). He joined the NFT craze in November 2021.
Rapper Lil Baby is another celebrity who also joined the Yacht Club via MoonPay, but he took it a step further by “mutating” his Bored Ape with a special NFT serum, resulting in the creation of a second Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT. He’s currently using the latter as his Twitter profile photo, and MoonPay documented both the purchase and mutation on its TikTok channel.
