So Snoop Dogg just claimed to be a prominent NFT booster

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Snoop Dogg, the famous rapper, tweeted on Monday that he’s the one behind a Twitter account that discusses NFTs. Yes, this really is a thing that’s happened. While Snoop Dogg has released NFTs before, that’s not really anything new for celebrities — running a Twitter account that constantly tweets about crypto, and owning around a hundred of the crypto tokens, however, would be another level. Is this reveal real? A prank? It’s unclear, but it sure is interesting.

@CozomoMedici (seemingly named after a prominent Renaissance-era Italian banker) is a Twitter account that’s amassed quite a few followers in the month or two it’s been active and talking about crypto. Part of what’s made the account splashy is that it’s seemingly spent millions on NFTs. The person behind the Medici account has been talking about releasing their personal details for at least a few days now, even running a poll inviting people to guess at their true identity. (No, Snoop Dogg was not one of the options, but AOC and the lead singer of Muse were). It culminated today with the person behind the account announcing that they were going to tweet their identity from their personal account, saying that it would be discovered because they’re considerably famous. Five minutes later, Snoop Dogg tweeted “I am @CozomoMedici.”

It’s tempting to use Medici’s involvement with Jason Derulo, singer of “Whatcha Say” and “Wiggle (feat. Snoop Dogg),” as evidence of his prominence in the space. The R&B artist thanked Medici for helping him purchase a CryptoPunk earlier this month, but today’s (possible) reveal raises the question: did Derulo look to Medici because they were prominent in the NFT space, or did he know it was actually one of his peers?

Image of Jason Derulo and Snoop Dogg looking off-screen with surprised faces.

When you see an excellent NFT.

Image: Warner Records

While the Medici account is relatively new, only being created last month, it’s still managed to gain some notoriety, having been mentioned in a story by crypto outlet The Block. The Medici OpenSea account also has around 100 NFTs in its collection (some of which were purchased for millions of dollars worth of Ethereum).

What’s an NFT?

NFTs allow you to buy and sell ownership of unique digital items and keep track of who owns them using the blockchain. NFT stands for “non-fungible token,” and it can technically contain anything digital, including drawings, animated GIFs, songs, or items in video games. An NFT can either be one-of-a-kind, like a real-life painting, or one copy of many, like trading cards, but the blockchain keeps track of who has ownership of the file.

NFTs have been making headlines lately, some selling for millions of dollars, with high-profile memes like Nyan Cat and the “deal with it” sunglasses being put up for auction. There’s also a lot of discussion about the massive electricity use and environmental impacts of NFTs. If you (understandably) still have questions, you can read through our NFT FAQ.

I know the question you’re asking… no, screaming… no, freestyle rapping at your monitor: has Cozomo de Medici bought any Snoop Dogg-themed NFTs? Well, of course I went and snooped on their OpenSea account, and I found some things that would be pretty amusing if Medici turns out to actually be Snoop.

First, a few minutes after Snoop tweeted his confession, the Medici account bought two weed-themed NFTs by an artist named NyanDogg. The account has also been sent a cloud of blunt and Snoop-themed NFTs since the reveal.

One of the NyanDogg NFTs purchased by Medici.

Hey, wait, isn’t that Snoop’s Twitter avatar?

By George it is!

There is, of course, the possibility that this is a troll on Snoop Dogg’s part, or that Medici and Snoop coordinated this and the real Medici’s identity is still unknown. The Medici Twitter account has liked a ton of tweets relating to Snoop Dogg’s, but to be honest, if Snoop claimed to be me, I’d like tweets about it too, despite the fact that I’m not actually Snoop Dogg (as far as you know).

Tweet retweeted by Snoop Dogg reading: “with so much drama in the N-F-Ts it’s kinda hard being @CozomoMedici   but he somehow some way keep buyin’ up slick ass jpegs like every day”

It’s hard to tell what the fallout from all this will be. Will Snoop Dogg become a thought leader in the NFT space? Will more celebrities come out as having run crypto accounts (perhaps Snoop’s friend Martha Stewart is Pranksy)? Or will this whole thing turn out to have been an elaborate prank?

At the moment, the answer to all of those questions is unclear, but there is one concrete consequence of Snoop’s tweet: his mentions are now filled with people pitching him NFT projects. Never thought I’d have that in common with him.

Final note: while, again, I cannot stress enough that there’s no hard evidence linking Snoop and the Medici account, there’s one more critical clue to point out: Medici often signs off tweets with a wine emoji. You know who has his own brand of wine? Snoop Dogg. Case closed everyone, we’ve totally nailed it down.