Rap Legend Nas Sells Two Songs as NFTs on DJ 3LAU’s Royal Platform

Famed American rapper and songwriter, Nas, is selling partial rights to two of his songs via Royal, an investment platform that allows anyone to own a piece of their favorite music to earn royalties alongside the artist. 

“Having Nas be the first artist to sell royalty rights through Royal is an incredible affirmation of our mission,” said Royal CEO and co-founder Justin Blau (3LAU). 

“It’s proof that artists across genres feel strongly about democratizing ownership of their music, and that they want to be connected to their listeners on a deeper level,” he added. 

Nas is equally as optimistic. 

“I am always looking for new and unique ways to connect with my fans, so I am excited to partner with Royal on their new endeavor in order for my fans to connect with my music in a new way,” he said. 

Breaking down Nas’ Royal deal

The first sale starts on January 11, where users can invest in Nas’ music by buying LDAs, or “limited digital assets”, backed by streaming royalty rights. A representative for Royal told Decrypt that LDAs are Royal’s “extended standard of an NFT”—essentially a Polygon-based NFT with additional functionality, in this case, streaming rights.

The songs in question are “Ultra Black,” the lead single from Nas’s 2021 album King’s Disease, and a single from “Rare,” a single from the follow-up 2022 album, King’s Disease II. 

Both songs have been released by Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal. 

This is also not the first time Nas has been involved with Royal. In November last year, Nas joined The Chainsmokers in a $55 million fundraise for the music investment platform. 

About Royal

Royal, self-described as “redefining music ownership for Web3,” is backed by a plethora of investors including Andreessen Horowitz. 

In October 2021, 3LAU gave away 50% of the streaming rights to one of his own songs, called “Worst Case.” 

Of the song’s total implied value of $12 million, this means fans hold about $6 million worth of the streaming rights to the 3LAU single. 

Earlier last year, 3LAU sold an entire music album for $11 million on the Ethereum blockchain—he sold the album as 33 NFTs on Origin Protocol’s Dshop, a decentralized marketplace built on Ethereum and the InterPlanetary Filing System.