Cryptocurrency. The Metaverse. Non-Fungible Tokens. All of those intangible things that seem to be the craze for artists, athletes, and influencers … just keep them far from Kanye West. He is not interested.
The billionaire creative took to social media to sternly ask people to stop inviting them into the digital auction space. He captioned, in all capital letters on, his stance on the new wave on a recent Instagram post, “STOP ASKING ME TO DO NFT’s I’M NOT FINNA CO-SIGN … FOR NOW I’M NOT ON THAT WAVE I MAKE MUSIC AND PRODUCTS IN THE REAL WORLD.”
NFTs are digital assets, tracked and verified on the blockchain, that represent ownership of things like art, music, and in-game items, among many others.
Though the “Donda” rapper doesn’t see value in space, according to The Block, a global information services brand for people interested in the digital asset space, the industry is buzzing. The site stated that the monthly NFT trading ballooned in January 2021 to a record high of $6.13 billion.
In December of 2021, Shaquille O’Neal partnered with The Notables to create images of himself, including a stylized replication of himself, dressed up as Santa Claus, and sold them as a philanthropic fundraiser. The proceeds from his NFT images went to his charity organization The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation.
Former Def Jam artist and West’s old label mate said for Christmas that instead of traditional gifts, he wanted to give his children NFTs, hoping that they will see the presents as investments into their futures.
The father of three stated, “It is an investment, stuff that they can have to watch and grow with them as they are getting older because it’s gonna be a great investment.”
Even Jay-Z, Future, Snoop, and Nas have made it big in the space, with NFTs that have sold for close to $1 million.
Probably the most impressive of the NFT auctions were from rap-singer, Tory Lanez. In an auction that lasted one minute, the Toronto rapper hosted his first-ever streaming NFT album “When It’s Dark,” which he claims sold 1 million copies for $1 apiece in just 57 seconds.
Regardless of what his rich friends are doing, Yeezy is not buying into the craze. He accompanied the post with a picture of a sheet of paper with an affirmation about what his “focus” currently is, written in black sharpie.
The sheet read, “My focus is on building real products in the real world, real food, real clothes, real shelter. Do not ask me to do a f##king NFT.”
Fans responded to his decision.
One person chided, “He used the parent line.”
Another believed that the multi-hyphenate is so popular that his post could negatively impact the industry.
“The entire NFT community watching kanye destroy the market,” tweeted @didJesusdrop.
Some thought his post was a distraction, tweeting, “got my #BTC on kanye west launching a NFT in a couple months.”
Wahmbulance might be on to something. The artist did sign off his message with: “Ye. Ask me later.”
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