This NFT process and the idea of selling something that is truly collectible, something that can appreciate in value excites me, and I can clearly see a digital future that includes the rising of NFT artforms. 

That said, in retrospect, it’s funny how the partnership with XYZ came to be. It was a college buddy who introduced me to John, the founder of XYZ, who back in 2018 was developing a platform for digital art with NFT tech. Fred gave me an elevator pitch on how NFTs and NFT art generally work, at a time when it was unheard of.

And although at one point I had even dismissed it, I decided to grab this opportunity and release the “Hip Hop Icons” collection, which I’m super excited about. The collection is exclusively launched on XYZ and I feel that this is a tipping point in my career; there’s going to be a change in my routine, the way I work, and the clients I take on. It’s just something that elevates not only my career but my aspirations to a level that I never really thought of before.

The Hip Hop Icons NFT Collection

I want to leave a legacy that my kids and grandkids can look at and see that I’ve been fortunate enough to work on some pretty high-profile projects like the Smithsonian book, the Grammy Museum, Kanye's video, and more. The message behind all these artworks would be that not only did I appreciate the music, but I gave back a little bit, and you can see my artwork and connect it with the source that inspired me so much. You’re going to see the collection and be able to say: ‘Hey this is the culmination of this guy’s entire career and his love for hip hop and here it is on this set of NFT cards that nobody’s done before’.

To be able to launch something of this caliber and this level of quality is just a dream come true for me. The 3D assets in the collection that go with the cards are exciting because they add a new layer to the collection; 3D items like a baseball cap, a shell-toe tennis shoe, a microphone, a gold chain, and a four-finger ring. Being able to have them as a 3D item that I can spin around and look at it, and have it along with the cards and associate it with my favorite music is exciting. The level of polish of these pieces is beyond what I was expecting, these look like actual pieces of jewelry and they got me so hyped that I want to physically own them; I have to have the Icons four-finger ring, that’s got to happen.

We’re going to release the Hip Hop Icons NFT collection to you on Month 11th. It’s the past 20+ years of my life encapsulated into the best collection of hip hop cards and deluxe 3D items that we could present to you tiered in different rarity packs: Common, Rare, Legendary, and the exclusive bundle “The Vault”, containing extraordinary 3D assets. All marketplaces built by XYZ benefit from a powerful feature set that includes easy accessibility, counterfeit protection, a secure payment system, full transparency and auditability, and gamification tools.

To learn more about XYZ, you can check out their Partner Spotlight right here on Flow.

You can follow me on Twitter to stay up to date on my upcoming artworks. Thanks for reading, I’m Jake Smith and this is XYZ.