Willow Smith has officially made history, becoming the first artist ever to receive an NFT plaque from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The plaque is in recognition of Willow’s 2010 breakout single “Whip My Hair,” which went 3x platinum, as well as her songs “Wait A Minute!” and “Meet Me At Our Spot” goes 2x platinum and her Travis Barker-assisted “Transparent Soul” goes platinum. The plaque’s artwork was commissioned by Willow herself along with her label, Roc Nation, and Infinite Objects.
“I am beyond grateful to have the opportunity to engage in the sacred process that is music,” Willow Smith said in a press release Thursday (May 25). “MUCH LOVE to the RIAA and Infinite Objects! I am so honored to be able to celebrate these milestones in such an innovative way.”
The authenticated Infinite Objects Video Print screen will automatically change the song’s artwork when the RIAA updates Willow’s certifications.
In 2022, the drama surrounding her father Will Smith and his infamous Oscar snub undoubtedly permeated Willow’s world – but she didn’t let it affect her as much as it could have.
In an August interview with Billboard about her album Coping mechanismWillow touched on the Oscar scandal, explaining that her family is human and they make mistakes just like everyone else.
“I see my whole family as people, and I love and accept them for all their humanity,” she told the publication. “Because of the position we are in, our humanity is sometimes not accepted and we are expected to act in a way that is not conducive to a healthy human life and is not conducive to being honest.”
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Willow went on to add that the firestorm that followed her father’s actions didn’t derail her creativity or “rock me as much as my own inner demons.”
Meanwhile in the NFT world – although things seem to have cooled down a bit after the NFT boom during the pandemic, Def Jam recently signed their first NFT act – a Gorillaz-esque virtual rock band called The Whales.
The group, which consists of cartoon whale characters, was signed to Def Jam in collaboration with The Catalina Whale Mixer – a collective of 5,555 NFT avatars on the Solana blockchain. The band, and the collective, were both created by WAGMI Beach in December 2021, with The Whales born from a meeting between Ben Willis, Joshua Andriano and Def Jam’s DJ Mormile and Ryan Rodriguez.
Def Jam confirmed that the NFT band will soon release their debut album, but would not comment on who the musicians are at the helm of the project, saying only that it would be a “who’s who” of talent.
