Ja Rule Launches ‘Black is Beautiful NFT Collection, $50k to be Donated to HBCUs

‍Ja Rule has joined the ranks of celebrities who have embraced non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, with his "Black is Beautiful" collection. 

Ja rule Rule and his business partner Herb Rice claimed they will donate $25,000 from the collection's inaugural sales to historically Black universities including Jackson State University, Morgan State University, Hampton University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College. His own company, ICONN Media, will match the donation, bringing the total to $50,000. 

Late last spring, the Grammy-winning singer Ja rule, and Herb Rice established The Painted House in collaboration with the non-fungible token (NFT) launchpad platform – House of First.

The collaboration gave rise to the Black is Beautiful, an NFT collection with 1,000 pieces in total that, according to the platform, showcases black joy and the daily struggles of being black in America. Additionally, collaborators on the projects also include digital illustrator Nick Davis, Deion Sanders, Ashanti, Tanya Sam, and Bam Adebayo, among others.

“It’s basically telling the story of Black America, from our joy to our pain”, said Ja Rule in an interview with Bloomberg. 

Rule and Painted House’s associates have a personal connection to each of the chosen institutions. Rice's wife graduated with a degree from Morgan State, while Rule's daughter attended Hampton. Deion Sanders, the head football coach at Jackson State, and Spelman alumna Tanya Sam are additional members. Sam’s husband received his degree from Morehouse.

“Those were the schools that were on our radar for [those] reasons,” Rule added. “This is just the spark—we’re starting it. I pray that others will get onboard with this movement.” 

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