MTV to Broadcast Metaverse-Inspired Award Show Performance Featuring Eminem, Snoop, Bored Apes

On Thursday, the popular cable channel MTV revealed that the legendary rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg plan to perform the duo’s hit single “From the D 2 The LBC” this Sunday. The music video features the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) stemming from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, and the upcoming show is considered the first-ever metaverse-inspired award show performance.

MTV to Air Metaverse-Inspired Performance Featuring Hip Hop Stars Eminem and BAYC NFTs

In three days on August 28, 2022, at 8 p.m. (EST), MTV will be hosting the Video Music Awards commonly referred to as the VMAs. The award ceremony will be MTV’s 37th video award presentation since September 14, 1984.

This year’s VMA’s will be held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and hosted by LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj, and Jack Harlow. On August 25, MTV tweeted about a special performance from the rap stars Snoop Dogg and Eminem.

“GET READY… [Eminem and Snoop Dogg] are bringing “From the D 2 The LBC” to the VMAs stage for a world premiere performance,” MTV said. The rap duo’s upcoming show is considered the first-ever metaverse-inspired award show performance as the hit single “From the D 2 The LBC” features the two rappers’ BAYC NFTs.

Eminem owns BAYC #9,055 and Snoop Dogg owns BAYC #6,723, and both were purchased for six figures per NFT. Both Eminem and Snoop are avid NFT collectors and the “From the D 2 The LBC” music video features the artists’ high-profile NFTs in an animated fashion. The duo’s music video is also nominated for a VMA award.

The MTV VMAs news follows the creators of the BAYC collection Yuga Labs, co-founders Gordon Goner and Gargamel, releasing the licensing rights for Cryptopunks and Meebits owners. Yuga Labs did the same with BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), and Bored Ape Kennel Club (BAKC) NFTs.

The intellectual property gives NFT owners the right to leverage their NFTs for commercial or personal purposes like Eminem and Snoop did with BAYC #9,055 and BAYC #6,723. Just recently, Eminem published a picture of himself on Twitter hanging out in the studio with the legendary music producer Dr. Dre and Snoop.

This year’s VMAs will also feature Lil Nas X who won the video of the year VMA award last year, and he is nominated once again for the video of the year award. If the artist wins again, Lil Nas X will be the first VMA award winner to win the top award back-to-back.

Lil Nas X is also into NFT technology, and the musician was supposed to collaborate with the social media company Tiktok and release digital artwork with the company. Tiktok had already released NFTs with the social media influencer and pop musician Bella Poarch, alongside Grimes who managed to gather $6 million from the NFT sale.

A report published by Rolling Stone said the Tiktok NFT collaborations with famous stars were considered “a mess,” and “a complete joke.” Months ago, Eminem’s NFT collection of digital action figures and original beats made roughly $1.78 million via a sale that occured on the Nifty Gateway NFT marketplace.

Eminem has also invested funds into Makersplace, alongside a slew of venture funds and Eminem’s friend, the CEO of Goliath Records and former president of Def Jam Recordings Paul Rosenberg.