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Cryptorastas Are Cultivating NFTs Within The Reggae Community

Cryptorastas is kicking off the Reggae NFT scene

Cryptorastas

One of the first reggae NFT collections went live this past week at Miami Art Week, debuting with a curated Reggae Event taking place at Purple Palms Art Creative on Friday, December 3rd. The night featured Jamaican reggae star and 2022 Grammy nominee Jesse Royal, Brazil’s Digitaldubs and a collaboration with Miami’s very own Dubwise Sound Station. Additionally, there was a very special NFT panel that discussed how NFTs empower artists and generate value for the music industry.

cryptorastas miami jesse
Cryptorastas

The Cryptorasta’s NFT dropped on November 10th, with ten new NFTs via auction in collaboration with top Reggae artists and celebrities, which quickly sold out, with a total of 17.0049ETH in sales. The brand new collection includes reggae legends the late Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Cedric ‘Congo’ Myton, Kabaka Pyramid, Augustus Pablo and many more.

ONE37pm spoke with Cryptorastas founder Marcus MPC aka Digitaldubs, and Reggae artists Jesse Royal and Bay-C to discuss bridging the digital gap between the reggae community and NFT economy, representing Reggae culture and community within the NFT metaverse, and the importance of supporting artist collaborations and giving artists a profit.

cryptorastas bay c
Cryptorastas

ONE37pm: Cryptorastas is the very first reggae NFT collection, what does it mean to be a part of this?

Bay-C: Chronologically there were reggae NFTs before Cryptorastas actually, I released the first reggae NFT in April and Morgan Heritage followed a few weeks later in April. However, I would say Cryptorastas is the very first reggae NFT community, and it is a powerful one. It brings existing individual NFT players like myself with newcomers and fans all in one community with the collective vision of empowering the rasta community through blockchain. 

Jesse Royal: Sons and Daughters of the King are always forward thinking so I was not surprised. It was more exciting than anything else. It’s important for us to become a part of financial conversations as well. Limitations are not for Rastafari.

ONE37pm: How has it been learning about the NFT space as an artist?

Bay-C: It has been very exciting and mind-blowing. As far as the creative mind can conceive, it can be achieved with NFTs. It is the present and the future for creatives.

Jesse Royal: Learning about the possibilities and potential of the space has been an interesting journey that I’m still on.

cryptorastas10420collection
Cryptorastas

ONE37pm: How involved were you guys in terms of representing your individual art in this NFT collection?

Bay-C: I trusted the Cryptorastas team to produce it. After I saw the first draft, I didn’t need to change anything. It was on point. Their team is awesome!

Jesse Royal: We are still working on the actual piece but the reception from the community and the broader global space has been great. Love to see it and I’m here for it!

ONE37pm: Last but not least, what’s on the horizon for 2022?

Bay-C: For 2022, I will be launching some more Bay-C NFTs to tie in with the release of my sophomore album King Bass. This will be in February. For the summer I will be on tour in Europe and throughout the year I will be collaborating on other cool NFT ideas around dancehall, gaming, and sound system culture.

Jesse Royal: For 2022 and beyond lookout for more masterpieces, more philanthropic work as well as a deeper livication to the restoration of our identity, not our ego. Blessed Love.

Here’s what Cryptorastas founder Marcus Menezes had to say about the platform.

“Since I realized Cryptorastas could be something big, I thought the project should be a collective work, to really involve and bring back to the Jamaican culture. The first idea was to make avatars to represent the artist officially, in a way they directly benefit financially. Cryptorastas became a perfect open door for the reggae movement, bringing artists and fans closer together in the community. The future possibilities are endless!"

Be sure to keep up with all things Cryptorastas via their official website.

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