CHICAGO – APRIL 1995: Rapper Notorious B.I.G. performs at the International Amphitheatre in … [+]
NFT platform OneOf has announced the release of The Sky’s the Limit: The Notorious B.I.G. NFT Collection on July 26th. The first-of-its-kind NFT collection is being done in partnership with the Christopher Wallace estate.
The collection will aim to honor Notorious B.I.G. as one of the most influential rappers of all time.
The collection will feature 3D avatars inspired by his life and work, and will uniquely include the right for each NFT holder to collectively license the audio of Biggie Smalls’ most famous freestyle, filmed on a street corner in Brooklyn when he was 17. Until now the freestyle has never been officially released or made available for other musicians to sample and use in their songs.
With the approval and oversight of the collective (and estate), musicians will be able to license Smalls’ iconic freestyle and include it in their own recordings. The song can also be released on music streaming sites with a “featuring The Notorious B.I.G.” credit in the song title.
Backed by Quincy Jones and operating on a proof-of-stake network, the OneOf platform is marketed as green as it uses 2 million times less energy than other platforms in the Web3 space. OneOf has partnerships and has so far curated drops for the likes of Whitney Houston, Doja Cat, Sports Illustrated, and The Grammy Awards.
Whitney Houston in Concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, 5th November 1993. The … [+]
“We named this collection ‘Sky’s The Limit’ because we believe this is a watershed moment in NFTs where seminal artists like Biggie and their truest fans can drive culture and drive value together,” said Joshua James, OneOf Co-Founder & COO. “We’re thrilled to work with The Christopher Wallace Estate to honor Biggie’s enduring legacy, in Web3 and beyond, and we have some amazing surprises for NFT holders along the way.”
“Biggie’s music is a very important part of hip-hop culture and its global impact,” said Wayne Barrow, Manager of Voletta Wallace/Biggie’s estate. “Our business partner, Elliot Osagie of Willingie Inc, came up with the concept of coming together with OneOf to share the infamous freestyle that showcased to the world the icon that Biggie would soon become through an NFT, and sharing it with his fans in this way we are certain would make him proud.”
The marketing of NFT campaigns has been sporadic as of late. At first, there was hope for coverage in mainstream publications coupled with massive exposure on social media, it’s seemingly become increasingly difficult to garner success releasing collections. Partly due to the drastic decrease in the value of crypto as of late.
Web3 marketing agency Rocket Now prides itself on finding robust and influential means to market any Web3 project, even in the current market.
“We run real marketing campaigns with real tangible results for our clients, and often operate as ‘partners’ with clients to take them through each phase to success. Said Josh James, Founder and CEO of Rocket Now (a different Josh James than above).
Josh James from Rocket Now at his company offices.
“Our focus is on working directly with marketing departments and other marketing specialists to achieve really big tangible results, with high ROI.”
James continued, “Traditional marketing isn’t moving enough people, so we had to explore a lot of different marketing methods, and test a lot of different ideas.”
“From 15-plus years of successful marketing combined with day-to-day man-hours and masterminding with other top marketers in the industry, we found a method of success.”
The executive team at the company outside of James is rounded up by Asmat Ullah, co-founder and CSO/Director of NFT Search, and Hochang Kwon (OJ), who is COO and Director of Blockchain Marketing at Rocket Now.
Asmat Ullah also co-founded an advanced digital platform for tourism. The tech, called Bestoftci, was created with Turks and Caicos entrepreneur Nathaniel Handfield, and enables travelers to more easily learn about and traverse Turks and Caicos.
Co-founder of Rocket Now, Asmat Ullah, at his desk in his office.
In regards to notable drops, such as the upcoming Notorious B.I.G. collection, Kwon said the times of a name being enough in regards to NFT releases are over, and that cutting through relies on penetrating marketing avenues.
“You used to be able to just say a name and NFT and people would gravitate towards it in droves. Mainstream media would pick it up, and it would sell out seamlessly. NFTs were new and exciting, and because people didn’t understand them wholly, there were a lot of movements in the space.” Kwon stated.
He added, “Now because of the state of the market, people’s growth in understanding the sector, and the present fear of losing money on a web3 bet there needs to be a proper explanation, strategy, and something unique about the drop.”
“This Biggie collection has something unique right, so that certainly helps it, for example. But some just go into the market with a celebrity name and a prayer and oftentimes it doesn’t work out.”
With web3 being closely tied to crypto in more ways than one, the market continues to dictate people’s levels of embrace in the sector. Similarly to the dot com boom, the companies that survive the downs and proof of concept stages of the area could be set to thrive. Marketing in this regard will always be a part of the pie.
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