UPDATE (1/5/2022): The nipseyverse.com website has been pulled down. Apparently, “legal issues” have caused the release of RAIRTECH’s Nipsey Hussle NFT collection to be delayed. The original article is below.
RAIRTECH is releasing a limited NFT collection for a new Nipsey Hussle project. The digital rights management platform partnered with Leroy “Mr. Lee” Williams and Southwest Digital Distribution for the upcoming EP.
“Culture, community, and innovation have always been at the heart of Nipsey’s values,” says Mr. Lee, CEO of Noddfactor Entertainment. “We’re glad to work with RAIRTECH and Southwest Digital to continue his vision with yet another groundbreaking release to his final album.”
The Nipsey Experience will include the title track “Blue Laces 3,” seven additional unreleased tracks, the Nipsey Hussle documentary, and behind-the-scenes footage. Only a limited 1000 NFTs with exclusive music rights to the project will be available.
“We see this NFT drop as a means of creating a community of loyal fans and collectors that will benefit from future content, all available through our NipseyVerse,” states Southwest Digital’s John Patillo.
In addition, the 1000 participants in the NFT release will be added to a private discord server to receive exclusive drops, including first access to NFTs, real-world auctions, and merchandise. The NipseyVerse is scheduled for release on January 6, 2022.
“With all the NFT platforms available, it’s an honor to collaborate with the Nipsey Hussle team on such an iconic project for our first-ever NFT drop,” says Ed Prado, CEO of RAIRTECH.
Prado continues, “As we understand the significance of this project and its legacy, we’re excited to demonstrate the RAIR technology suite as a truly viable solution to empower creators with more control than any other solution on the market.”
Prior to his death in 2019, Nipsey Hussle released the Grammy-nominated Victory Lap via All Money In/Atlantic Records. The Los Angeles representative also famously sold 1000 copies of his 2013 mixtape, Crenshaw, for $100 each. That sales strategy was considered trailblazing at the time.