The worlds of cryptocurrency and Hip-Hop continue to collide.
Rapper Ja Rule recently helped launch Flipkick.io — a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace — alongside co-founders Robert Testagrossa and James Cropcho.
According to Bitcoin.com, it’s “a full-service NFT marketplace that caters to artists, celebrities, and creators who want to monetize their work with physical NFTs.”
“It’s just a smart thing to be able to authenticate physical artworks cryptographically and let these amazing artists be able to enjoy the fruits of their work and it was never possible before in the past. So I really applaud what Flipkick is as far as the physical NFT space,” Ja Rule told Bitcoin.com.
Ja Rule’s love for the tech space drew him to hopping on board with Testagrossa and Cropcho to bring the unique idea of Flipkick to life.
“As I got into NFTs I noticed a dope project and the whole angle was something different, which I really loved,” Ja Rule told Bitcoin.com. “The angle of taking physical works of art and authenticating them in a similar way NFTs are authenticated on the blockchain but with a chip. We have a patent pending on our technology.”
Prior to launching Flipkick, Ja Rule has had his hands in cryptocurrency. Following the infamous Fyre Festival scandal, in March, the rapper sold a Fyre Festival painting for $122,000 in cryptocurrency, according to the Daily News. In June, Ja Rule also signed a deal with the Ethereum-based startup Roll, Yahoo reports.
Along with his tech partnerships, Ja Rule also holds digital assets across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Cordano. In addition, Ja Rule has plans of launching his own cryptocurrency — with the company ICONN — that’s currently in the works and “definitely ready to go,” according to Bitcoin.com.
“I actually have my own cryptocurrency, it’s really a social token that I have with a company called ICONN,” he said. “I haven’t launched it or anything yet but I guess this is going to be my coming out party because I just mentioned it. I have my own currency, I just haven’t launched it yet but it’s definitely ready to go.”
When the cryptocurrency officially launches, Ja Rule will be joining other stars like Akon and Lil Yachty, who have also announced their own personal ventures in the crypto world.
