NFTs have been the talk of the creative and entertainment industries for the last few months and now rapper Waka Flocka is getting in on the action too.
In April, news circulated that the Hip-Hop superstar entered a partnership to create Satoshi Art — an all-new 100% minority-owned NFT platform that’s bringing monetary profits to creative artists worldwide. Through this new company, Flocka is aiming to empower Black artists and their work by introducing them to a new revenue stream to profit off their intellectual property.
In speaking with Flocka, he shared with AfroTech that he came across NFTs through his own research and knowledge.
“It comes easy when you’re a nerd,” he tells us. “You’re hip to everything people don’t believe in, and then by the time they get on it history is made. I learned in my earlier years, to be a smart person you have to know when you meet another genius.”
In this instance, Flocka is referring to his business partner Stally — a certified cryptocurrency genius and entrepreneur — who helped him co-create their new NFT platform.
Their joint venture led them both to a vision where artists are now being given a unique sense of ownership over their catalogs and one-of-a-kind works. The purpose behind launching Satoshi Art was for both Flocka and Stally to educate the general public and creatives about how NFTs can be used to obtain financial gains through digital art.
“We want to give artists, collectors and users themselves a platform to get recognition that any other artist would have,” Stally tells us.
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Prior to the platform’s launch, Flocka approached Stally with a game-changing idea, which later evolved into their new go-to global NFT marketplace that’s changing the narrative for artists.
“He’s got a good idea and I have a similar idea, [oh man] this could be something colossal,” he said about their previous conversations. “I came to him like a regular human being and said this is what the world looks like from my perspective. It was an eye-opening [revelation] for him and vice versa, and right there history was done.”
Both business partners believed that the platform they were developing was something the world needed, especially at a time where ownership for Black and brown artists is being heavily emphasized.
According to Stally, right now “anything and everything that people have the opportunity to sell, whether it’s concert tickets or artwork, is being sold as an NFT.”
Though other NFT platforms already exist, Satoshi Art takes a different approach that’s all about teaching artists how to get the most value out of their work.
“We strongly believe that with blockchain, people should view it as the new internet. Whether you’re a painter or musician, you wouldn’t rush to drop [project after project] just to quickly secure a bag,” Stally says. “You want to ensure that each drop that you do is successful, so [Satoshi Art] is teaching sustainability and longevity.”
Another huge factor of Satoshi Art’s business model is its ability to create financial freedom and two-tier ownership. These elements alone are what make it possible for artists to be truly independent in monetizing their artwork and grow in their artistic careers.
As an artist himself, Flocka knows firsthand what artists today need in order to support themselves and sustain careers without having to sacrifice their art. By working with Satoshi Art, his hope is that these artists feel free to create and sell their work as they see fit.
“For once, we want artists to be at the forefront,” he says. “We’re not saying no other platform isn’t great or good, we’re just telling [them] from an artist’s perspective that we understand their struggle. You don’t want money to suppress people’s talents and that’s what Satoshi Art is about.”
He adds, “We’re not saying this is the final answer, but I bet you we’re the best answer out.”
Flocka is so confident in Satoshi Art’s potential that he even issued a challenge to global business publication Forbes to take the lead in doing their own NFT drop.
“We would love to do Forbes’ NFT,” he says, “I’ll make a bet with Forbes – if we can touch a $100 million valuation before 6 months tops, we deserve to do Forbes’ NFT.”
As Satoshi Art’s new venture continues to grow and scale, only time will be able to tell how successful it will be in the NFT marketplace. However, both Stally and Flocka assured us that their platform is an example of where the future is headed in which art and the world of finance join together.
“God created us to create, so only he knows where this NFT space is going to go,” Flocka says. “All I know is we’re going to be sitting on the front row of it because it’s about to go somewhere that I don’t think none of us imagined it to.”
For more information about Satoshi Art and the platform, visit its website.
