Snoop Dogg will be auctioning some of his own memorabilia.
Variety reports the rapper is partnering with sports-and-music auction house The Realest — created by producer and radio host Scott “DJ Skee” Keeney — to auction off items through a project titled “The Shiznit.” Items will include photos, Playstations, production books, autographed TV scripts, platinum discs, autographed jackets and jerseys, master recording tapes (copyrights to the music will not be included), and an autographed Death Row Records chain.
“The items he is putting up are iconic,” Keeney told Variety. “Everything from lyrics, awards — like ‘Pimp of the Year’! — unreleased tapes, outfits, sample toys, photos, scripts, concert riders, even a Snoop-authenticated smoked blunt in a crazy display case and ashtray.”
Furthermore, Keeney, who launched The Realest in December 2023 and raised $4.6 million in seed funding in a round led by KB Partners, has a rigorous process to ensure the offerings being sold are authentic. Variety notes the company has witness-based authentication to verify a connection to an athlete or musician and creates a watermark using a hologram sticker and hidden markings, in adherence with Opsec Security, a sports apparel security firm. Additionally, the company operates as two entities. One is used to house security and a network of 50 authenticators (TRuEST), while the other is for promotions and sales (The Realest).
“Memorabilia has not been a real thing in music,” Keeney explained, according to Variety. “Items listed are often either fake or stolen, and hip-hop has been wildly under-represented as well.”
Snoop Dogg’s involvement with the auction house may send a message to other artists on how they can create new avenues of wealth building. The rapper has been very vocal about the streaming industry and how little it compensates artists. As AFROTECH™ previously mentioned, he only received a $45,000 payout from Spotify after receiving 1 billion streams.
“Can somebody explain to me how you get a billion streams and not get a million dollars?” Snoop Dogg said during his appearance as a panelist at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference. “That sh-t don’t make sense to me. That’s the main gripe with a lot of us artists is that we do major numbers with streams but it don’t add up to the money.”
Now, Snoop is seemingly finding new ways to still profit from his legacy, and he’s surprised.
“This is sh-t that we have, but we didn’t know it was worth something,” Snoop Dogg told Variety.
Keeney added: “Snoop is passionate about helping introduce an entirely new revenue stream for artists that is not just a typical ‘estate’ or garage-type sale of items, but from documented and authenticated ephemera. Items like setlists, stage equipment, outfits, signage, and more are things that fans desire but can’t find. It helps to build a new revenue stream for artists.”
For interested buyers, the auction is already in full swing and will conclude on June 2, 2024. Additionally, a preview will be held in Los Angeles, CA, on May 29 with items viewable in other parts of the country as well.
