NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Digital collectibles platform Blockparty today announced a partnership with NBA superstar Brandon Jennings and his luxury streetwear brand Tuff Crowd to launch into the NFT world via a collaboration with the massive sports and entertainment brand Ballislife. This all-star partnership will enable Brandon to engage with his fans in new ways through the launch of metaverse wearables like Brandon’s prized mixtapes and merchandise via NFTs.
Brandon Jennings has always been a trendsetter, starting when he created the original mixtape to engage with brands and the NBA, then again with his founding of Tuff Crowd and now, as the world becomes more digitized, he’s setting the next standard for fan engagement outside of the stadium through his launch into NFTs. Ballislife also generated a brand new way for players to engage with brands through basketball coverage and video mixtapes. Now, powered by Blockparty’s platform, these two iconic brands are coming together to create the next phase of fan engagement in the growing digital economy.
“Blockparty has always been passionate about helping empower brands to form deeper connections with their communities and fans, and that relationship has some of its strongest roots in the sports and entertainment world,” said Vladislav Ginzburg, CEO of Blockparty. “We’re thrilled to be working with such notable and iconic names in sports to only further strengthen the relationship between players, brands and fans.”
With such a passionate, engaged and dedicated fanbase, athletes, brands and collectors can all benefit from this collaboration. In fostering deeper connections between these audiences, and removing the middleman that brings them together, they’ll have direct access to connect over the things they love most. Fans and collectors can have access to Brandon in ways like never before, from owning one of his original VCR mixtapes to a signed jersey from the pro legend.
“I’m really excited to work with Blockparty on introducing Tuff Crowd to the metaverse, and it’s been a great experience thus far as we make our first leap into NFTs,” said Brandon Jennings, basketball legend and founder of Tuff Crowd. “Ballislife was another obvious partner because they represent the ideal culture for high school basketball, and it only felt right that I went back to where it all began. I want to make sure I am giving fans exclusive access to the people and things they can’t get anywhere else - whether that’s art, physical pieces and 1:1 interaction with their favorite athletes and brands.”
“I started filming high school basketball players because of athletes like Brandon Jennings - he made the process of making mixtapes easier with his flashy, yet ferocious play,” said Matt Rodriguez, Founder and President of Ballislife. “It’s only fitting that we could be a part of putting out the first ever 'Mixtape Legend' NFT featuring Brandon.”
To learn more about how Blockparty is connecting fans with the athletes, creators, artists and brands they love, visit https://www.blockparty.co/.
About Blockparty
Blockparty has created a new class of digital collectibles across art, music, and sports to enable users to share and earn value together. Through its Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Marketplace, Blockparty will enable fans to fully own, sell, and trade digital assets while allowing creators to build more valuable relationships with their fans by offering incentives, rewards, and giveaways through digital collectibles. Blockparty is headquartered in New York City, NY, and available to users across the globe. For more information, visit https://www.blockparty.co/.
About Tuff Crowd
Founded in 2018, Tuff Crowd was created by Brandon Jennings based on his real-life experiences. At a young age, he recognized that life wasn’t always going to be easy. Despite the good favor his fame and money brought, he didn’t feel the same level of respect toward his skin tone. He realized that at the end of the day we’re all just human, we can’t take things so personally and sometimes, life is just a TUFF CROWD. Inspired by his love of clothes and piecing together outfits, Brandon wanted to translate his style into a brand that others could access and relate to. Everything in the collection is connected to Brandon’s life - effortless, yet bold and controversial. See more for yourself at www.tuffcrowd.com/.
About Ballislife
Founded in 2005, Ballislife is deeply rooted in basketball lifestyle and culture. Since 2005, Ballislife has been the uncontested leader in producing high school basketball mixtapes. Expanding beyond content production and distribution, Ballislife is also a growing athleisure brand. For more information, visit www.ballislife.com or follow the company on social media @ballislife.
