Mount Westmore (the supergroup comprising hip hop’s most influential legends: Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, and Too $hort) is promoting its new album – BAD MFs – by releasing it exclusively on blockchain-based platform Gala Music for a limited period ahead of traditional formats.
BAD MFs was released in the metaverse during a premiere at Gala Music’s Galaverse event this week. The NFT content was directed by The Berry Boys with support from The Berry’s VFX teams. The Berry Boys, who have been shortlisted for the upcoming Cannes Lions Young Directors Showcase, led the charge on the creative direction and visualisation of each NFT asset.
The Berry Boys worked closely with Gala Music to create 15 unique NFTs in the form of looped videos that use 3D animation, motion graphics and 2D workflows. Featuring everything from animated versions of the hip hop legends rocking a throne with signature attitude, to a spliff pumping on a giant subwoofer, the NFTs help forward-thinking fans unlock and experience the masterpiece that is BAD MFs.
Pushing boundaries
Alex Frank, Global Head of Music at Gala Music, said: “The Berry Boys and their team at The Berry absolutely nailed the visuals for the Mount Westmore project. The creative pushed boundaries but still aligned with the subject of each track. Both the artists and NFT holders were incredibly pleased. Working with them was a dream as well.”
Ryan Burnham, one half of The Berry Boys, added: “It was such a privilege to be part of this seminal project. Creating next gen content for legends like Snoop Dog and Ice Cube, gave us plenty of motivation and inspiration to achieve outstanding NFT creatives. And with NFTs being one of the fastest-growing assets, the project puts us at the forefront of this digital art revolution. The opportunity to work so closely with Hip Hop’s biggest stars has been incredibly rewarding and we can’t wait to take our partnership with Gala Music even further.”
Luke Robson, the other half of The Berry Boys, commented: “Not only was this one of the most exciting projects to come through our door, but it was by far one of the most challenging too. The tracks were still being tweaked and finalised while we created the digital artworks. So we had to be very reactive when tracks were dropped or re-written, as we were creating bespoke artwork for each one. It was all part of the fun though and really reminded us how creative and efficient we can all be as a team, even under pressure!”
Ice Cube (Rapper and one-quarter of Mount Westmore) said: “You got the four pillars of West Coast hip-hop. We are down with Gala Music. We are coming out with that Mount Westmore BAD MFs album. There is going to be new music, new experiences, shows, everything that the Westmore got, baby, you gonna get it.”
Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with more than 20 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. With a career spanning from the first PlayStation to the latest in VR, he's proud to be a lifelong gamer.
