Exploring the Rapper’s Unexpected Journey into Cryptocurrency and Canine-Themed NFTs
In the ever-broadening universe of Snoop Dogg’s multifaceted career choices, one chapter stands out for its sheer modernity and low-key surrealism: the time he became one of the most prominent figures in the NFT space by releasing a collection of blockchain-based digital artwork featuring, among other things, an animated Doberman wearing a gold chain and a velour tracksuit.
Snoop Dogg’s foray into the NFT world was not a hesitant dip but a cannonball-level plunge. In 2021, he took the Web3 community by storm with his alter ego, “Cozomo de’ Medici”—a pseudonymous online collector who amassed a high-profile digital art portfolio. After weeks of speculation, the reveal that Cozomo was, in fact, Snoop Dogg came not through a dramatic press release but via a casual tweet that read like something one might say when confessing to stealing a cookie: “I am @CozomoMedici.”
Soon after outing himself as a secret art collector with a penchant for JPEGs, he moved on to releasing his own NFT collection: ‘A Journey with the Dogg.’ This wasn’t just some recycled album cover art with a crypto label slapped on. It included original tracks, artwork, and yes—an animated Doberman that somehow embodied both menace and chill. One piece featured the dog skating through outer space, barking cosmic wisdom between loops of funk-influenced background beats.
In what was arguably the most Snoop Dogg thing ever attempted on a blockchain, he also released a remix of “NFTs” (the song) as an actual NFT, thereby completing a self-referential loop so perfect it might cause the Metaverse to fold into itself.
The collection sold out in under an hour. Buyers were given the unique satisfaction of knowing they now owned a slice of cyberspace cool, hand-forged in the virtual volcano of Snoop’s bottomless brand expansion. The rapper-turned-crypto-mogul even announced plans to build a Snoop-themed mansion in The Sandbox, a virtual world where property is imaginary but still wildly expensive.
To date, Snoop Dogg remains one of the few hip-hop legends to actively deploy a cartoon canine as both a digital ambassador and investment opportunity. Whether this is an expression of personal style, brand synergy, or a philosophical statement about the decentralization of identity—no one can say for certain. And, as always with Snoop, he doesn’t feel the need to explain.
In the vast pantheon of career pivot decisions involving luxury pets and blockchain tech, this one may be the most Snoopian of them all.