Grammy-winning producer Illmind’s NFT Music Community drops debut album in Q1 2023
As a two-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Ramon “Illmind” Ibanga Jr. has an impeccable CV in the music world.
He has co-writing credits on legendary labels such as Def Jam, Aftermath and Cash. He has worked with Drake, Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Logic, Future, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Nicki Minajeven Marshall Mathers. He has also worked with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the “Hamilton” Mixtape and Disney’s “Moana.”
It is not surprising to see someone with their cultural cache enter the Web3 space with the launch of the NFT project Squad of Knights (SOK) in March 2022.
It was launched a bit after the heyday of NFT hype in 2021, but it also has clearer goals and utility than most PFP projects. With SOK, Illmind tried to make the NFT holders part of a supportive community of music creators.
What’s unusual for someone of Illmind’s fame is that he came to the Web3 space—and stayed. He continued to participate, expanding the SOK community and appearing as a speaker, educator and practitioner at Web3 events – including Benzinga’s Future of Crypto conference, on December 7th at Pier Sixty in New York City.
Just days before the big conference, we took a moment to check in with Illmind to talk about the SOK community, the upcoming collaborative album, “The Chronicles of SOK” and the future of blockchain and music.
The Chronicles of SOK, pre-release cover art/liner notes. Source: www.squadofknights.com
BZ: How has the community for Squad of Knights evolved since its launch?
Ill mind: “The project is great. We’re releasing the first official Squad of Knights album in the first quarter of next year. I’ve spent the last two months mixing and cleaning up the album. It’s crazy. It’s 22 tracks, all produced, performed , written and mixed by our Squad members, which is super, super exciting.
So we’re going to start the year with the launch of the album, which is kind of a combination of Web2 and Web3 launch. So it will be on digital service providers (DSPs) like Spotify and Apple Music, but we’re also going to issue NFTs, which our members are going to keep 100%.
It’s 22 tracks and it’s completely produced, performed and arranged by all the Squad of Knights members, and you know, all the revenue that comes in for the album goes to them.”
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Did the Squad of Knights community experience a dip when the market started to crash?
“We definitely noticed that. But we maintain a core group of members who are always looking to do more. The fact that the market is down right now and we still feel the energy from the community is a sign that they were” I Not really there for the money in the first place. They want to make music. They want to come into the studio and build with each other.”
How do you think the down market for NFTs has changed what people expect from their project environments?
“I think people are forced now to implement projects that have an actual meaning for people to want to be a part of and a purpose. I think [NFT project] the founders is that they realize, ‘Hey, we can’t just pick an animal and make 10,000 of them.’
How advanced are the music artists in the SOK milieu?
“It’s a combination of all skill sets and all levels from intermediate to advanced, just super, super talented. And they lift each other up. It’s crazy. Every Squad of Knights member is super unique and dedicated to what they do.
I’m always interested to see what they can do together. When you look at the track list, you can see that there are three or four producers who have collaborated on one beat. And then you have two different rappers, two singers and 10 people on the song. We had close to 300 song submissions in 2 1/2 and we had to narrow it down to 22 songs, so I’m super impressed with that and the album is fire.”
Do you have any examples of members who really impressed you with their abilities?
“So many of them. For example, there’s one member named MiaMei. She’s a singer. She came to the LA meet and we all connected and played their music.
She blew everyone away with her music. She raps, she sings and she has charisma. She writes everything herself. She had been working with members of the community before that meeting, but in person we saw her superstar status.
That night, one of Dr. Dre’s A&R reps was in the studio. When MiaMei came on, he said, “Yes, you are special.”
There is another member, a rapper named Profit. And when we first started doing the collaboration challenges, this guy was on every song. He features on four songs on the upcoming album. They’re all super motivated to do more, and that’s inspiring.”
What kind of events do you have with the SOK milieu?
“We have events with Knights both in the metaverse and in real life. We’ve been doing metaverse meetups through Spatial, which has been a lot of fun. But we definitely want to do more in real life (IRL).
In our last IRL meet in LA over the summer we had 40 knights come. Someone flew in from the city and we went to the studio and spent the whole night playing music. It was such a dope experience.”
How does it feel to be the biggest manufacturer in Web3?
“Oh, man! Fun. Some pressure. But mostly fun, and it gives me an opportunity to go out and do cool, weird new things, which is always what I’ve been into. Going into Web3 was no different than when I released my first drum kit in 2011. This is a tool and potentially a new revenue stream for music producers. I’m definitely not afraid to jump into something and have it not be perfect because that will only lead me to next thing that will eventually land me somewhere that works.”
Are you interested in playing music on more Web3 shows in 2023?
“Absolutely. Yes. It’s in the cards. I started my career as a DJ. My manager and my team have been aggressively strategizing to get me on the road more and do more gigs in the Web3 area. Especially now that I’m here in Miami.”
How would you describe the Web3 music vibe?
“They just like to have fun. Nothing too serious. They’re there to be part of a community and get to know each other and dance, hopefully. And that’s it. When I think about it, I think up-tempo music, so it could be hip-hop, it could be EDM, it could be house music.”
What does the future of crypto mean to you?
“The future of crypto will be a mechanism to make our lives easier.
If handled correctly, Web3 technology and only cryptocurrency will improve the quality of life for people around the world. That’s what I hope.”
The last word
It’s great to visit an NFT project almost a year after launch – and deep in the chilly climate of crypto winter – and find that it’s still going strong.
When it comes to offering continuous utility, SOK’s approach reminds me of VeeFriends because both Illmind and Gary Vee was able to take an approach from his media career and build value for the local communities with it. Vee had been producing conferences with VaynerMedia for a decade prior to VeeCon 2022; Illmind had held seminars for aspiring producers and musicians long before the NFTs.
I’m really looking forward to the new album – not only is it likely to be dope, but I think it’s one of the most sincere expressions of the higher goals of Web3 because the SOK community is both audience and creators.
I hope to see more NFT projects like this that know and understand their audience. Utility is not something you should address after the launch of a project – it should be the reason the project exists.
This story is part of the Benzinga Future of Crypto 2022 Summit related content. Some of the best minds and most important projects in Web3 will be present on December 7th in New York City, including Rare, Cosmos, Yuga Labs, Solana, Laguna Labsand Algorand. Keynote speakers include Kevin O’Leary and Anthony Scaramucci.
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Photo: Courtesy Ramon “Illmind” Ibanga Jr.
