Bootsy's 'Funkship Area 51' NFT. Photo: Provided by Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins, Cincinnati's favorite master of Funk, is jumping into the digital art world.
Collins has launched a "Funkship Area 51" NFT (a non-fungible token) to raise money for the nonprofit MusiCares. A cause near and dear to Collins' heart, MusiCares provides "preventative, recovery and emergency assistance to safeguard the well-being of music people in need," per its mission statement.
A collaboration with CryptoStache - a website dedicated to helping people learn more about cryptocurrency, blockchain and NFTs - the Bootsy art depicts a colorfully funkadelic Collins playing his iconic Space Bass and includes a brand new "Bootsy groove," says a release.
The "Funkship Area 51" NFT - named after a song on Collins' latest album, The Power of the One - will be available on digital marketplace OpenSea, with bidding ending at 1:02 p.m. EDT on May 5. Twenty percent of proceeds will go to MusiCares.
NFTs are a piece or art or music or other creation that has a special, individual address. And when you buy one, you become the only person that can own that specific work. It's kind of like a one-of-a-kind toy or baseball card or van Gogh painting that lives in the digital realm. And although you can buy and sell them, the "non-fungible" part separates them from cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
