Ja Rule wants to put Black NFT artists front and center by following in the footsteps of Harlem jazz and hip-hop icons

On a brownstone pole in Harlem nestled between New York’s Fifth and Madison Avenues, 54 jazz musicians gathered in 1958 for a photograph that would inspire tributes for decades to come.

In 1998, almost 200 hip-hop artists gathered on the same pole for a photograph. And in June, 64 years after the original photo was taken, dozens of Black NFT (non-fungible token) artists gathered there to do it again.

Front left was rapper Ja Rule, who had hits including “Always on Time” to “Mesmerize” in the early 2000s. He now aims to put Black NFT artists front and center with The Painted House, a platform he and his business partner Herb Rice created after realizing they were often the only black people at NFT events.

In collaboration with the NFT launchpad platform House of Firsts, The Painted House released its first project in June. “Black is Beautiful” is a collection of more than 1,000 NFTs by artist Nick Davis depicting the everyday lives of Black Americans.

“It captivated me,” Rice told Insider. “Growing up, I was very insecure about my dark skin, so when I saw [Davis’] art, it took me back to a place in time when my family used to tell me how beautiful my black skin was.”

Others feel the same way about Davis’ art, the duo said.

“This represents me,” Ja Rule said, recalling people’s response to the art. “I don’t see too many pictures with my black skin in them.”

He says “smart rappers” are interested in NFTs because they “like to be ahead of things and we can keep our ears to the streets.”

Ja Rule says he got into NFTs without even realizing he was collecting them, through NBA Top Shot, an NFT marketplace where basketball videos can be traded.

“I’m a big card collector, and I thought this was the natural progression to trading cards, a digital form of trading cards,” he explains.

Before The Painted House, Ja Rule and Rice created an investment group called Brotherhood Dow to educate their close network about NFTs, cryptocurrency and blockchains.

Their latest venture plans to launch collections by new artists, as well as fashion and clothing projects.

The pair reject criticism of NFT marketplaces, arguing that they have pros and cons “like any other industry” and instead want to focus on its community-building aspect.

Buyers of art from Black is Beautifu will get new music from Ja Rule, as well as other exclusive content, for example.

“There are things we get to do in the NFT environment that you don’t get to do in any other business entity,” the rapper says.

They plan to give some proceeds to historically black colleges and universities with a $25,000 donation to five institutions. ICONN Media, Ja Rule’s live streaming entertainment marketplace, will match that sum.

Ja Rule hopes historically black colleges and universities will eventually be as prestigious as Ivy League schools. “We want people in our community to be proud when they go to an HBCU like if you go to a Cornell, or Duke, or Penn State, or Harvard.”