Bored Ape NFT Group, KINGSHIP, Taps Grammy-Winning Producers for Songs

Credit: AP Photo / Getty Images

Kingship, the Bored Ape non-fungible token music group, has signed two heavy hitting producers to its talent roster. Chauncey “Hit-Boy” Hollis and James Fauntleroy will be joining the musical act to produce its discography and set the stage for the group’s first tour around the metaverse.

The two producers are renowned in the music world. Hit-Boy is a three-time Grammy winner who has crafted hit singles for Beyoncé, Kanye West, Rihanna, and Jay-Z, among others. Fauntleroy has won four Grammys for his work with Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake.

While neither had a comment about joining the group at this time, Fauntleroy told TIME Magazine that he has dabbled in Web3, including purchasing Bitcoin at $9,000 and collecting more than 30 NFTs, which are now “worth around nothing.”

Kingship is a group of Bored Ape NFTs and one NFT from the Mutant Ape Yacht Club that represent musical performers. 10:22PM, Universal Music Group’s Web3 arm, started the group, licensing the Bored Apes and Mutant from Jimmy McNelis, better known in Web3 circles as “j1immy.eth.”

Hit-Boy and Fauntleroy’s first order of business had been naming the Bored Apes and Mutant and assigning them roles in the band. When that had been completed, the two have focused their attention on creating the discography. For the two producers, Kingship is a “rock band” through and through.

Music Industry Takes to Web3

Kingship’s on-boarding of two heavyweight producers is promising for the band. But it certainly isn’t the only Web3 news coming out of the music industry. Not a month goes by when an artist or production company isn’t making waves in the nascent space, and we here at Rarity Sniper have been there to report on them. Here are three such stories.

Four days ago, Rarity Sniper reported on a group NFT sale involving the late David Bowie. According to a press release, a group of NFT artists had partnered with Bowie’s estate to release NFT David Bowie-inspired artworks. The proceeds will go to charity.

About two weeks ago, Eminem and Snoop Dogg made news by performing with their Bored Ape NFTs at the VMAs. The show involved a video of Eminem and Snoop Dogg rapping a song they debuted at ApeFest in 2022, while embodying their Ape avatars rendered in 3D.

Also about two weeks ago, Kingship announced that it had partnered with Mars Inc. to release a limited-edition set of M&Ms. The group negotiated to have the faces of its Apes and Mutants on M&Ms with different colors. As the story goes, it did so because it believes it will bring people of all different backgrounds together.

Hit-Boy and Fauntleroy joining Kingship is big news for NFT music fans and lends some credibility to this new form of art. Here at Rarity Sniper, we’ll keep our ears to the ground for future developments in the story.