Snoop Dogg and Eminem to Bring Bored Ape NFTs and Otherside Metaverse to MTV VMAs ‍

Rap legends Eminem and Snoop Dogg will perform together on Sunday at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), drawing inspiration from the Otherside metaverse and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.

This VMA performance is yet another instance of NFTs influencing popular culture. Bored Apes have been co-opted for everything from fast food chains to M&Ms, and NFTs—unique blockchain tokens that represent ownership—have evolved into digital status badges for the rich and famous.

The worldwide rap superstars will give Otherside huge public exposure by transforming the VMAs stage into its style for their latest joint tune ‘From the D 2 the LBC’, in collaboration with Otherside developer Yuga Labs. However, specifics on the performance are scarce at this point.

The VMAs have also included a "Best Metaverse Performance" category in its annual awards, seemingly sending a message to the music business that metaverse performances deserve greater attention. Justin Bieber, Twenty-One Pilots, and the Rift Tour with Ariana Grande are among the nominees for the honor.

Perhaps the VMAs are hoping that embracing the Metaverse might boost their declining audience figures. The 900,000 viewers that tuned in live to watch the awards on MTV was the eighth consecutive year that viewership has declined from the awards' peak of 12.4 million viewers in 2011.

Sunday’s performance will mark Eminem’s first comeback to the VMAs in 12 years and Snoop’s first performance at the awards show in 17 years.