Rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg personified Bored Ape Yacht Club-style avatars in a metaverse performance at the MTV Video Music Awards.
BAYC-Eminem And BAYC-Snoop Rap For Otherside
The act featured both rappers as BAYC NFT characters performing their “From the D 2 the LBC” track on the Otherside metaverse. The track’s original music video, which dropped earlier in June, also features BAYC characters. In the act, the rapper duo transform into their BAYC avatars and perform a version of the track. The performance was meant to be a promotional vehicle for the Otherside metaverse, which is the latest Web3 initiative by BAYC’s parent company Yuga Labs and blockchain gaming VC company Animoca Brands.
Fans Call Performance “Cringe”
However, the promotional move has been criticized by rap fans, who have called the performance “cringe” because of its metaverse component. The animation of the avatars has been called out to be of poor quality, with fans on Reddit and Twitter claiming that the older celebrities were desperately trying to appeal to a younger audience by going the route of “cartoon effects.” The fans also called out the rappers for “selling out” and promoting NFTs through their performance. Finally, the dropping relevance of award shows, like the MTV Video Music Awards, has also been factored in to explain the mixed responses from the public. The award show even featured a metaverse awards category this year, proving that once-aspirational VMA is trying to gain back relevance by incorporating Web3 elements into its programming
Both Are Deep Into NFTs
While both Eminem and Snoop Dogg have been significantly involved with NFTs and other Web3 elements, this is their first-ever metaverse performance. Both the stars had purchased BAYC NFTs earlier this year, with Snoop being more actively involved. He holds LAND and NFTs in The Sandbox metaverse, another subsidiary of Animoca Brands. He has also acquired Death Row Records to adapt it for the metaverse. Earlier this year, he partnered with Crypto.com to launch his own NFT collection, “A Journey with the Dogg.” More recently, he entered into another partnership, this time for The Sandbox for another NFT project, “Snoop Dogg Party Pass.”
Eminem has purchased several NFTs, of which the “GeeGazza” NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection is the most noteworthy. He bought this NFT earlier this year for 123.45 ETH, which was worth around $450,000 at the time. His own NFT collection was launched in April 2022 on Nifty Gateway, featuring high-quality animations with an original beat by the iconic rapper himself.
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