Jay-Z NFT Goes On Sale at Sotheby’s – This Time, Approved by Jay-Z

An attempted sale of rapper Jay-Z’s debut album Reasonable Doubt as an NFT was recently stopped by the US District Court of New York.

As one of the owners of Jay-Z’s label Roc-A-Fella Records, Damon Dash allegedly attempted to sell a tokenised version of the album. However, Dash stated he was only selling his stake in the company.

No More Doubt About Reasonable Doubt NFT

In any case, NFT artworks of the Reasonable Doubt album will be going on sale at Sotheby’s – this time with the approval of Jay-Z himself.

From June 25, Sotheby’s put up for auction an NFT commemorating the album, just in time for its 25^th anniversary. Bidding starts at $1000 and will continue until July 2.

An undisclosed percentage of the sale proceeds will go to the Shawn Carter Foundation, an organisation that provides scholarships to low-income and at-risk students.

The artwork is called “Heir to the Throne” – which was reportedly the original name of the album in its early stages of conception. The artwork was created by Brooklyn-based Afro-American artist and curator Derrick Adams, who has maintained a long professional relationship with Jay-Z.

Over the years Jay has collected and supported my work and so this collaboration is particularly fulfilling. With this NFT project, we jointly embrace the opportunity to further the conversation about how artists of different mediums contribute to a more inclusive society. Jay’s album Reasonable Doubt changed the game 25 years ago, and continues to influence so many of us.

Artist and curator Derrick Adams

This NFT is the first to be created by Adams – and the first to be sold by Jay-Z. The artwork can be viewed at Sotheby’s Decentraland art gallery.