Snoop Dogg’s Son Presents $1 Million to Simmons Family for Blockchain Philanthropy at Art Basel Miami Beach

Snoop Dogg’s son Cordell Broadus has just launched the Champ Medici Arts Fund, a charitable venture to support emerging artists using blockchain globally. At Art Basel Miami Beach this season, he will present the first prize of $1 million to the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation on Friday the 2nd. December.

Rush is the non-profit organization founded by music mogul Russell Simmons and his visual artist brothers Danny Simmons and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons of Run-DMC hip-hop fame.

Cordell (Champ Medici in the Metaverse) seeks out artists of color, women artists, and anyone who is underrepresented, and sees this fund as an opportunity to give back while promoting the NFT technology that has brought him success.

“It’s just crazy to see how I can contribute in my own way now and try to get the new generation interested as well…” he said, “If you have a message and you’re trying to create, I’m all for it , no matter what you look like. But I’d like to see more black artists do this.”

Later he went into more detail about limitations.

“We tend to make music, play sports and do other things, so I just want to open our minds and not marginalize ourselves into a small sector where the success rate is not as high as other career fields. I think they just need to see different representation , and hopefully I can spark that in a few artists to have a triple effect.”

In short, Champ recognizes the power of community and aims to use it to generate broader wealth.

“It’s about having the stamp of culture,” he said simply. “Once the culture gets behind it, it becomes a massively adopted thing afterwards.”

Championing Crypto and Web3 since discovering the technology in 2018, Champ worked as creative director of e-gaming platform Doge Dash in 2021. His father, rapper and entertainment entrepreneur Snoop Dogg, is not only known for his early 2000s musical hits , but for continued investments and projects. Snoop recently bought Death Row Records, taking his son’s cue to release 250 songs on the Ethereum blockchain where buyers owned rights to the music. This spurred a new wave of musical creativity and enthusiasm for the technological possibilities, generating $3.5 million.

Like his son Champ Medici, Snoop calls himself Cosimo Medici in this room, both names taken from their Bored Ape portraits.

Champ Medici partnered with Gushcloud International, the Singapore-based pioneer in the blockchain space focused on the entertainment industry. Co-founder and CEO Althea Lim confirmed how smart contracts give artists a chance to break out of traditionally restrictive record label deals.

Building on the energy-efficient blockchain platform Tezos, Champ evangelizes the philanthropic project’s potential despite recent controversies in the crypto and NFT space. He is uniquely well-suited to the seemingly volatile NFT sphere as the son of a celebrity musician and a former UCLA football player in his own right, learning from a young age about the ebb and flow of public opinion.

“Now is when you look at the opportunity – when you look around and see who’s going to build when the noise and the hype isn’t here,” he said, “With everything in life, when your favorite team wins, everybody’s gone” wear it the jersey. But once they start losing, nobody rocks it, you know? The way I see it, I want to be seen as a pioneer and a staple in this space, so I’m here at any cost. I’m here for the innovation.”

A father of two himself, Champ often talks about the family legacy that predates his father’s success, such as his great-grandfather owning 90 acres of land in Georgia as a shrewd and wealthy real estate investor in the segregated South. From real estate to rap, soccer to blockchain, nothing is stopping the family now.

Champ first came to appreciate art when he received the gift of Artis Lane’s The beginning in 2016, one of 750 lithographs of her good friend and legendary civil rights activist Rosa Parks. A 2015 Swann Galleries Auction of Maya Angelou’s collection included one of these special prints, which then sold for $700,000.

Finally, despite the quick money so far, he sees that this crypto market is a waiting game and he is patient.

“…Technology is always on the way; it never sinks. So it’s not at the comfort we want it to be right now, but give it a couple of years. Five years, 10 years, who knows? But I know the first iPhone didn’t look like the iPhone 14.”

Today, Champ continues to work with Sotheby’s Hip Hop team to recognize new artists and technologies and remain a fixture in the traditional art market. So whatever the next innovation may be, Snoop Dogg’s family will be ready to use it for mobility and success.