Cannabis-focused blockchain company Burn1 has partnered with the social justice reform nonprofit The Weldon Project and the Black Comics Collective to develop a non-fungible token (NFT) project.
The trio will combine original artwork by New York Times best-selling artist John Jennings and a previously unreleased song written and performed by Snoop Dogg to create the NFT, the sales of which will generate funds for cannabis reform and advocacy.
The 4,200 piece Semi-Generative NFT collection is set to launch on February 5. It will contain an unreleased track titled "Smokin','' produced by Weldon Angelos, with an original portrait of Angelos by Jennings, who is also the publisher of Megascope books and media studies professor at UC Riverside.
‘Blend Of Art, Music, And Activism’
Around 65% of the proceeds will be donated to The Weldon Project, which in addition to Burn1 and the Black Comics Collective, plans to release four more NFTs featuring Jennings artwork by spring 2022.
"This NFT project with the Black Comics Collective and Burn1 is exciting because it allows me to further our mission while creating an exciting new blend of art, music, and activism,” said Angelos who founded The Weldon Project and launched the MISSION [GREEN] initiative to raise awareness around social justice, social equity around cannabis and to provide relief to those negatively impacted by unjust drug laws.
Angelos, who served 13 years of a 55-year prison sentence for selling less than an ounce of marijuana, was pardoned by former President Trump. Prior to his incarceration, Angelos was a hip-hop producer and record label owner, who had produced music with Snoop Dogg, Tupack Shakur and others.
John Jennings Impressed
"It's such an honor to have my work associated with this cause and also with such an amazingly gifted collection of cultural activists and creators," Jennings said. "We are in a renaissance regarding the fusion of art and technology."
About Burn1 and The Black Comics Collective
Burn1 is an ecosystem of technologies working to integrate blockchain into the cannabis industry. Burn1 Coin is a cryptocurrency that automatically generates funds for nonprofit organizations and individuals engaged in cannabis reform and justice by donating 3% of every transaction to people and communities negatively affected by cannabis-related issues.
The Black Comics Collective (BCC), an NYC-based organization that celebrates cultural diversity in comics, was founded by Deirdre Hollman, former director of Education and Exhibitions at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The BCC brings together a large community of Black writers, illustrators, publishers and others who depict a dynamic range of global Black experiences, aesthetics and social issues in comics.
Photo: Courtesy of Burn1
