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Syrian rapper and producer ventures into NFTs

Al Darwish, a Syrian rapper and producer, has announced plans to venture into non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The rapper, who has been popular among the Arab hip-hop community for almost twenty years, plans to use NFTs to sell and advertise his music.

Syrian rapper ventures into NFTs

Darwish is behind the first-ever Arab rap NFT music in North Africa and the Middle East. The rapper said that he knew about NFTs through his fellow rapper, and since then, he has been researching the market to find out how it works and the best way he can create engagement with his fans.

Darwish’s track dubbed “Ana” will be distributed through Nifty Souq, an NFT platform created by Palestinian entrepreneur Nabil Al-Sayed. According to Darwish, NFTs bestowed freedom to creators, and he called upon other Arab musicians to also venture into NFTs.

“I started doing music almost twenty years ago, searching for independence. I have turned down major record labels and major offers for distribution because I believe we are creating a huge market and should own our royalties. In 15 years, we will be the pioneers who started Arabic hip-hop,” Darwish said.

Sayed has promised to work with Darwish and enable him to fulfil his mission. He said that NFTs offered more efficiency in monetizing an artist’s work using blockchain technology.

“The smart contract technology is advancing in more than one way to support NFT artists. As a result, a type of mediaverse is now emerging. Artists will benefit from sales and royalties,” Sayed added.

The role of NFTs in art

NFTs have become increasingly popular among creators because they allow them to showcase their work without the fear of duplication. In a recent publication, NFT Now, a digital media company has said that independent musicians did not need a corporate label to access an audience to share their work.

Darwish is not the first musician that has ventured into the NFT space. Ben Caesar, a hip-hop musician, based in Dubai, has also announced the release of a track through the OpenSea NFT marketplace. Caesar said in a note to a media outlet that “music legalities are difficult to explain even for seasoned artists. Copyright, publishing, licensing, royalties and how music is consumed need to be considered.”

Last year, Water and Music, a research company offering music and technology trends, said that the average single-copy music NFT was offering an inflated price, showing that “This economy is financially out of reach for the vast majority of fans.” However, the number of musicians venturing into NFTs remains relatively small.

In 2021, the music NFT sector recorded a 97% crash from its peak, according to a report by NFT Now. Sayed said that Nifty Souq was open to collaborations with other musicians. It said that the platform was created for independent Arabic music. “Our goal was always to support this community before we adopted NFTs as a means to elevate the Arab music scene,” Sayed added.

Ali Raza

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