Ja Rule has made a profession of making music the world wished to listen to. Now, he’s spearheading a brand new mission aimed toward altering how we view what we like to see.
The hip-hop entrepreneur and his enterprise accomplice, Herb Rice lately they’d co-founded The Painted Home and rolled out its first NFT artwork assortment Black is Lovely on July 14. Black is Lovely is described as a shocking depiction of the uncooked feelings of Black People navigating each the thrill and struggles of on a regular basis life in America.
The idea is progressive, and on par with the place know-how is heading so it makes excellent sense that the sensible businessman launched the mission. What Ja Rule didn’t understand was he was concerned in web3 lengthy earlier than it grew to become a development.
“I’ve at all times been into amassing memorabilia—celebrity-autographed objects, sports activities buying and selling playing cards, all of that,” Ja Rule shared with Essence. “So I actually acquired into it digital buying and selling playing cards that encapsulated necessary sports activities moments. Little did I do know, till my enterprise accomplice pointed it to me years in the past, that these have been NFTs that I used to be buying all this time.”
He mentioned there was a pure development from being an off-the-cuff early adopter to wanting to achieve possession within the area, however in a manner that felt genuine to him: by means of paintings.”
“I’ve at all times liked artwork—I’ve items lining all the partitions of home, a lot to my spouse’s dismay,” he mentioned jokingly. “The Painted Home actually is a manifestation of what I’m actually obsessed with, stunning issues and know-how.”
In partnership with Home of First, Black is Lovely options 1,000 distinctive, one-of-one collectible NFTs that spotlight the work of illustrator Nick Davis. It’s described as an amalgamation “the uncooked feelings Black People navigate on a regular basis in America.”
Ja Rule additionally shared that as an indication to his dedication to Black schooling, the Painted Home has partnered with choose HBCUs to empower the subsequent era of inventive entrepreneurs. In response to a information launch, The Painted Home will donate 10 % of main gross sales to 5 HBCUs: Jackson State College, Morgan State College, Hampton College, Spelman School, and Morehouse School.
“That is solely the start…we’re undoubtedly aiming to do extra within the however we wished to prioritize a partnership with these establishments out the gate as a result of they’re pillars of our communities,” Ja Rule mentioned. “It’s all about schooling for me. I need our youngsters to be proud to go to HBCUs. I need Fortune 500 corporations to clamor to get these children at HBCUs as a result of they’re the cream of the crop, and that comes with funding. So is it an enormous donation that we’re giving out? No, it’s not an ideal massive donation, however it’s the beginning of many donations.”
The platform was launched alongside notable figures in leisure, enterprise and sports activities together with spectacular Bam Adebayo (Miami Warmth Heart, NBA All-Star, and Philanthropist); Ashanti (Grammy Award Successful Singer / Songwriter); Baron Davis (Two-time NBA All-Star, Serial-Entrepreneur, and Investor); Shira Lazar (Emmy Nominated Host, Actress, Author & Blogger); Tanya Sam (Tech Investor, Entrepreneur, and Media Persona); Manouschka Gurrier (Movie star Chef); Nely Galan (Latina Media Dynamo, Finest-Promoting Writer & Ladies’s Empowerment Advocate) and extra.
“I’m actually happy with what we’ve executed with this,” Ja Rule mentioned. “It’s time to alter the way in which we view artwork and respect it by means of the long run’s lens.”
