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Snoop Dog, The Dog Father of NFTs Is Now The Owner of Death Row Records

If you are surprised that Snoop Dog is the first Music Icon to dive deep, headfirst into NFTs and the Metaverse, then you don’t know much at all about this living legend. Snoop Dog is not only a rapper, he is a TV host, actor, investor, sports announcer all-around entertainment mogul and let us not forget weed connoisseur. Snoop Dog whose real name is Calvin Broadus, has continuously broken the mode and defies stereotypical norms that pigeon holds most rappers and is often an early adaptor of new technology and platforms. For instance, as confirmed by Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Snoop was the very first celebrity to join Instagram. Simply by posting a photo of himself in a suit with the caption, “Bossin it up,” gained him 2.5 million followers. According to TechCrunch, Snoop’s presence on the platform garnered over 1 million new users in less than three months including some of his celebrity friends as well as brands.

There is no box, place, or space that can hold Snoop Dog. Therefore it should not have been a shock to anyone when in September of 2021, Snoop Dog revealed himself as “the” CozomoMedici. Yes, Snoop and the popular NFT Whale and influencer are one-in-the-same.

 

What makes this even more special is that he manages to do this while always being his true authentic self. This is also his charm and why people love and gravitate toward him. Loyal to his origins, it is clear that Snoop seeks to uplift and expand hip-hop culture. It takes maturity and wisdom to know that it can only be done through openness and willingness to grow, adapt and evolve.

 

Along his journey, we have seen Snoop evolve from a newcomer with a fire verse on the “187” record off the 1992 Deep Cover movie soundtrack that was an instant classic. This one feature-on-one song seemingly catapulted Snoop to become a household name almost overnight with hip-hop fans. Then there was the groundbreaking collaboration with Dr. Dre later in 1992 with the release of “The Chronic,” which led to one of the most highly anticipated hip-hop releases of all time in November 1993, with DoggyStyle. Now in a full-circle moment, Snoop this week announced he is now the proud owner of Death Row Records, the label that 30 years ago launched his career.

 

The trajectory of most hip-hop artists is straight up (if they even make it out of the gate) and then straight down. However, Snoop Dogg never even plateaued only transcended, and now is leading the charge for hip-hop adaption into the world Web3 with NFTs and the Metaverse. Prior to Snoop announcing, he was Cozomo de’Medici, people could only speculate about the real identity of the anonymous collector. The wallet address held by Cozomo de’Medici and it’s NFT holdings are estimated to be worth roughly $17 million and include some of the most coveted NFTs in the space. The collection includes CryptoPunks, Meebits, as well as Bored Apes. 

A Couple of Snoop's Prized NFTs

Not only is Snoop a collector but he has also dropped a couple of NFT projects of his own.  In a collaboration with mixed media artist Coldie for his Decentralized Eyes portrait series, Snoop dropped a collage of 10 different images of his face throughout his life as an animated NFT that includes recorded new audio. Commenting about the release Snoop says,

“Over the last year, I have become a collector, a creator, and a collaborator of art on the blockchain. This technology has inspired me to rethink how I work and release my art into the world. Coldie is a thought leader, and I am a big fan of what he is creating so when he told me about his concept for this portrait I was immediately on board. In fact, I had to get in the lab and give it that personal touch. You don’t just see it, you feel it and you hear it. You digg. I want this piece to stand out as a representation of my vision in the metaverse. It’s Decentralized, Decentral eyes.”

Snoop also did a drop with Crypto.com called “A Journey With The Dogg.”  The drop brought together Snoop Dogg’s memories from his early years with art inspired by the NFT movement including an original track inspired by the movement called “NFT.”  A portion of the proceeds from this drop went to support young, emerging artists in the crypto space as well as Snoop’s Youth Football League.

Most recently Snoop, set the metaverse ablaze with a partnership with The Sandbox, a decentralized virtual world. Those lucky enough to score a pass for Snoop’s virtual mansion in Sandbox were able to experience his virtual NFT Art collection, cars, dogs and even a pool party.  Fans were able to purchase plots of virtual land adjacent to Snoop’s property in the Long Beach virtual neighborhood. In December of 2021, Three plot for land adjacent Snoops sold for more than the average price of an in-real-life home for a combined $1.2 million with the high price paid for one of the three plots at $453,000.

Now that Snoop is set to head up his own label, it is going to be interesting to watch the rollout and to see how NFTs, the Metaverse, and Web3 protocol gets implemented into the label’s future.  Already Death Row has partnered with GalaMusic.com to release his Snoops new album, “B.O.R.D.” (Bacc On Death Row) on the blockchain.  Minting began on February 9th. Fans lucky enough to collect all 17 tracks will be rewarded with experiences that include VIP Access to live concerts, a limited edition Death Row Records gold chain with the iconic logo, and exclusive future airdrops.  

Recently during a Clubhouse interview with Behind The Vest With Druski, with host and comedian Druski,  when asked about new forms of music distribution including NFTs and how it affects the younger generation of artists versus today’s artists what are some of the advantages and disadvantages.  Snoop had this to say, 

“The advantage is that you can learn how to do business at an early age, you can understand what money is, and understand financial literacy by taking a collision course in the industry.

The disadvantages are that they don’t get a chance to get up-close-and-personal the way we were able to.

When I dropped my 1st record, I went to see like one hundred radio stations and DJs and pulling up on TV shows and autograph signing and all that stuff.  Now it’s like drop your album and put out a text message and reach your fans, but not really touch your fans.  I come from an error when my fans hugged me, took pictures with me, and in moments, people pull out pictures from the 90 of me and them. It’s me and my fans up close and personal. I feel like nowadays the fans are digital and not as personal as they need to be and that is a disadvantage.”

When asked by Moderator, Crystal Mais Creative Consultant, and Marketing Executive, how do you decide who you do business with? Snoop replied, 

“First I have to like the product, like the person, or like the brand. And the most important thing is that it’s fun and that it makes funds.  So the same word is involved, fun and fund.  He also added, first, it’s got to fit who you are, it’s got to elevate you and it’s got to financially get you in a better position.”

When asked about how he would explain the Metaverse to a novice by Maxie Collier, Founder, and CEO of Super Livestreams.com Digital Puppets,  Snoop gives all of the credit to his son Cordell Brodus, explaining that Cordell heads up all of his NFT and Metaverse initiatives.

 “Cordell knows all that stuff, I just know where the money at. But my son is running and regulating and got me looking good.  I’m just tapped in and communicating.” 

The moral of the story is if you’re looking to discover emerging tech, platforms, and trends, staying tapped in with Snoop Dog is a safe bet. The OG DodFather never disappoints. 

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