Jay-Z Auctions NFT Titled "Heir To The Throne"

Regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists in history, Shawn Carter, professionally known as Jay-Z, has been gravitating towards non-fungible tokens (NFT) collectibles recently. The rapper known as Hov, has partnered with Sotheby’s to auction an NFT called “Heir to the Throne.” Yesterday, he also was involved in a conversation with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey about adding NFT capabilities to the music streaming service Tidal.

Jay-Z, who is a well-known hip-hop artist, songwriter, record executive, and business mogul is now getting into non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. Just recently, he changed his Twitter profile picture to CryptoPunk #6095 which made people speculate that the rapper had purchased the Cryptopunk NFT. Data shows that the CryptoPunk #6095 NFT was sold for $119K, or 55 ether. 

The Cryptopunk profile picture is not Jay-Z’s only relationship with the NFT world. The superstar is also partnering with Sotheby’s to sell an NFT based on his 25-year-old album “Reasonable Doubt.” Derrick Adams was commissioned by Jay-Z to animate the NFT and the collectible is going to be called “Heir to the Throne.” The Sotheby’s press release notes that the NFT collectible was inspired by Jay-Z and represents the digital artist’s “life in the urban streets.” The NFT auction hosted by Sotheby’s started on June 25 and ends on July 2.

On Monday, Jay-Z discussed NFTs and blockchain technology with Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey this week. Both Dorsey and Jay-Z are close friends and business partners, as they both have a significant stake in the music streaming service, Tidal. They currently are considering applying blockchain tech to Tidal’s services. During the talk which was hosted on Twitter Spaces, Jay-Z talked about a painting that was sold for a few grand and then resold later for $100K. “With these blockchains and these smart contracts,” the rap star stressed that the original artist’s family or the artist himself could have gotten a profit from re-sales because “it’s very transparent.”

Jack Dorsey agreed with Jay-Z’s stance and talked about how bitcoin has changed the dynamic. “You look at Bitcoin and how it enables people anywhere in the world to contribute and to become artists themselves and also to receive tips or grants or donations without having to go through any third-parties, there’s a lot of power in that,” Dorsey remarked.

Dorsey believes that the spirit of NFT collectibles is similar. “A lot of our focus going forward is to make sure that we’re just looking deeply at entirely new ways to give artists the right tools to help them and to build,” Dorsey added.

Jay-Z’s NFT exhibition premiered at Sotheby’s New York, but people can also view the artwork using the metaverse Decentraland. The rapper disclosed that a part of the proceeds from the auction will go to the Shawn Carter Foundation. The Foundation which was founded by Jay-Z focuses on helping people afford secondary school education and gives money to low-income neighborhoods.

You can listen to the conversation between Jack and Jay-Z here.