NFT collector spends $450,000 to live as Snoop Dogg’s virtual neighbour

NME

An NFT collector has spent $450,000 (£339,837) for a plot of virtual land to be Snoop Dogg‘s neighbour in the rapper’s new interactive world.

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‘Snoopverse’ is a digital community that resides within The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based platform for creating and monetising online hangout spaces and gaming experiences.

By being Snoop’s virtual neighbour, fans will be given access to exclusive, members-only parties at a digital replica of his California mansion – which is currently still being constructed.

‘Snoopverse’ residents will be able to deck out their avatars in designer clothes, drive sports cars, and build upon their own Snoopverse plots, which they can they profit off when other residents come to visit.

They’ll also have the chance to become Snoop Dogg himself, thanks to hand-crafted voxel Avatars that can be used in The Sandbox metaverse.

Snoop isn’t the only big name to partner with The Sandbox. Deadmau5, Avenged Sevenfold, and Richie Hawtin, as well as intellectual properties such as The Walking Dead, The Smurfs, Hell’s Kitchen and Care Bears already own land on the digital platform.

The Sandbox recently closed a $93million (£70.2million) Series B funding round led by SoftBank. The startup’s majority stakeholder is Hong Kong-based gaming firm Animoca Brands, an early metaverse and GameFi backer that was valued at $2.2billion (£1.6billion) after raising $65million (£49million) in October.

Other investors in the round include True Global Ventures, Liberty City Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Kingsway Capital and Blue Pool Capital.

The virtual world now has $144million (£108.7million) in gross merchandise value, 500,000 registered wallets, and 12,000 unique landowners.

Snoop dropped his new album ‘The Algorithm’ last month, marking Tha Doggfather’s 19th studio album. It also served as his first project for Def Jam, after coming onboard as the label’s executive creative consultant back in June.

In a three-star review of the album, NME‘s Kyann-Sian Williams said it “brings hip-hop lovers of all ages together”, adding that it “will probably appeal more to the older hip-hop cynics”.

Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg has said he thinks he should be in charge of his former record label Death Row Records and recently teased that it could actually happen soon.

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