Nas's Leap Into The NFT Space Leads Site Crash

BYAron A.12.1K Views
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People are comparing Nas' NFT drops to a sneaker drop on the SNKRS app.

Cryptocurrency became a hot topic throughout 2021 but the world of digital currency and assets have evolved with the introduction of NFTs. By now, we've witnessed all sorts of rappers and artists take a leap into the NFT space. Artists like The Weeknd, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, and more have made bank from their involvement in the digital space.

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Nas became a vocal supporter of crypto and NFTs, even rapping about his investment in Coinbase and how that's turned him into "Cryptocurrency Scarface." Most recently, the rapper launched non-fungible tokens where buyers would be able to obtain the streaming royalties to King's Disease record "Ultra Black," and "Rare," which appears on King's Disease II.

Purchasing the rights to any song in Nas' catalog is probably a solid long-term investment but you could imagine that the demand was quite high. Apparently, the number of people who attempted to purchase the NFT on the blockchain platform Royal led the website to crash. Some people even compared it to the SNKRS app. 

The rapper's attempt to sell the royalties to his two songs was just the beginning of even bigger plans down the line. Nas was selling 50% of each of the songs through NFTs, which he described as a means to connect with his fans in the new digital space.

"I am always looking for new and unique ways to connect with the people,” said Nas in a statement. “So I am excited to partner with Royal on their new endeavor in order for the world to connect with my music in a new way.”

Check out some of the reactions to Nas' NFT drop below. 







About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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