Suspect OTB launched his new single “Brick By Brick,” as an innovative NFT collaboration with artist Stephen Mee.
Mee began a life of crime aged nine and received a 30 sentence for smuggling cocaine in 1996 . While serving a 16-year prison stint, he returned to his love of art. When released, he used his time behind bars as the inspiration behind an immersive art installation and his transition into the metaverse.
The artist’s collaboration with the U.K rapper in conjunction with 9 Protocol features 277 virtual bricks from Stephen’s recent immersive installation “Release Mee.” The collectible NFT token accompanies the new single from Suspect OTB, “Brick By Brick,” and also includes a video documenting the launch.
The bricks, available now as an NFT, are a digital recreation of the bricks used in Mee’s exhibition at the Oxo Tower in London. The immersive installation featured 640 hempcrete bricks modeled after Mee’s former 6×6 prison cell. Blockchain technology allows NFT holders to gain music royalties to Suspect’s music.
Suspect OTB On “Reimagining” The Idea Of Bricks
Mee and Suspect share a mutual understanding of the brick concept, positively flipping the obvious connotation into art and music.
“The song is about reimagining the meaning of the bricks that are now being represented as NFTs” Suspect OTB noted in a press release. “And building the foundations for Stephen and I to connect others creating art in this digital world.”
“Taking the bricks that formed my prison cell into the digital space as NFTs represents the idea of rebuilding a life in the metaverse. A place to create something new,” added Mee.
The “Release Mee” NFT drop is available now through 9 Protocol. Check out the video featuring Suspect OTB and Stephen Mee below and their short film here.
Meanwhile, a new Suspect album is on the way, due later this year. The rapper is back in the studio, and while details on the project are scarce, previous features include the likes of Giggs, Skepta, Ghetts, Potter Payper, and more.