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A group of collectors who met each other in the crypto world built a community where artists and consumers can both benefit from digital assets.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A group of collectors who met each other in the crypto world built a community where artists and consumers can both benefit from digital assets. And now, they've collaborated with Houston artists and released an NFT, non-fungible tokens, mixtape called "Welcome to Gang Wars."
NFTs exist in the crypto world, but they hold real value that is worth real money. Mad Rabbits Riot Club, MRRC, started off as a profile picture project, PFP, like an avatar that people use online.
MRRC's collection of 7,500 unique Mad Rabbit NFTs are digital collectibles that live on the Ethereum blockchain.
Carlos Buentello, MRRC creator, goes by Nauts in the crypto world. He said they teamed up with Sideways who were already collecting NFTs, making the new project feel "organic."
The mixtape features artists from Sideways, a Juno award winning multi-platinum artist collective based out of Toronto, Canada.
"This is kind of the first of its kind. We're in uncharted territory here," Buentello said.
You can think of owning NFT music similar to owning a vinyl record. You can stream the music anywhere for free but owning the original copy of that record makes it valuable. When you own NFT music, your ownership goes to the blockchain which basically is a public record of your ownership. Making it official.
"As we grow as a brand, our collector will grow with us," Buentello said. "It's extremely enticing to hold these NFTs as we continue to build out and create new things that the world hasn't seen with music and NFTs."
MRRC x Sideways' album "Welcome To Gang Wars" released their first phase on Nifty Gateway's web3 platform on Oct. 31.
The release date for the second phase, which will be available on web2, meaning anywhere you can stream, has not been announced.
Nifty Gateway is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to buy, sell, and store digital art and collectibles.
"We initially started with phase one, which was 7,500 rabbits. They're all unique in their own way. But, as the story started to build out, we created what we call 'gang wars.' And we created these 10 factions where you get to choose who you're going to rock with as the story continues to evolve," Buentello explained. "We created an anthem for each 'gang,' if you will. There's 10 gangs associated with Mad Rabbits and there's 10 tracks associated with this drop."
Several MRRC holders call Houston home, including Kirko Bangz, Donkeeboy, David Anderson III.
Not only are you buying a music NFT, but it also comes with digital artwork created by artists from Houston and around the world.
Dallion Richards, MRRC co-founder, goes by Thruster in the crypto world.
"A big part of the web3, blockchain, crypto economy is ownership. Individual ownership of digital assets. What we saw take off (in 2021) was ownership of avatars. So, we created this collectible avator that we bridged the digital world of fine art into the world of digital collectibles. We wanted to bridge these two worlds with this beautiful aesthetic but also with something that would incentivize people to collect the NFTs," Richards said.
The creators said they launched this project in 2021 to build a community with shared values. Having a digital community helps bring access to these digital assets, allowing people to be more involved.
"We understood what the community wanted," Buentello said. "The relationships that we're building while we build out this project is what's most important to me as the founder."
"Our goal is to create that safe space," Richards added. "We welcome people in who have never been in this ecosystem before (the crypto world) and we want to provide them access to these unique and special artists and highlight these talents in this world."
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