Written in Partnership with Amir Bakian
One of the biggest benefits of buying digital art from an NFT collection is that the purchase supports the original artist. Over the last few years, NFTs have changed the digital asset game, connecting artists and art lovers in a mutually beneficial way.
With the rising demand for NFTs, many artists have ventured into this space to showcase their unique creativity in the form of NFT collections. DaRealGenius (Nelson J. Madera), a community-driven Latin NFT artist, and Ugonzo (Ulysses Gonzales), a psychedelic NFT artist, are two rising names storming the NFT industry and building communities, with a host of creative artworks and unique collections.
The power duo of DaRealGenius and Ugonzo rose to fame with the NFT project PsychoKitties. The PsychoKitties quickly sold out, with over 80,000 people still in the queue. Following this drop, the duo launched PsychoMollies as a 10,000 PFP airdrop to PsychoKitties holders.
The psychedelic time-traveling sci-fi story that started with PsychoKitties intensified as DaRealGenius dropped his own PFP project, the Mad Hare Society. The Mad Hares of the society emerged as the opposition group to the time-traveling PsychoKitties. So far, 2,500 Mad Hares were airdropped to PsychoKitties holders, and the remaining 7,500 were sold out in 13 minutes. Forging ahead with their roadmap, the duo is organizing a breeding event in the coming months that’ll be the first of its kind in the NFT industry.
The ethos behind PsychoKitties is the idea of being “psycho” as overcoming your limiting beliefs, fears, and doubts that people have about you. It’s about creating an empowered state of mind that lets you tackle life goals head-on without guilt or shame about your true expression of self.
DaRealGenius and Ugonzo fought their own battles to reach where they are today. At an early age, DaRealGenius discovered his inspiration in graffiti and street art. He’s also an alumnus of the prestigious Newark Arts High School, following in the footsteps of the legendary Frankie Negrón, Michael B. Jordan, Sarah Vaughan, Savion Glover, and Tisha Campbell. DaRealGenius attributes his love for vibrant colors to his Latin origin and he has been commissioned by Latin music artists such as Don Omar, Farruko, Nicky Jam, Ñengo Flow, Ivy Queen, and Rauw Alejandro.
Ugonzo hails from a family of artists and discovered his passion at a young age. Art was healing for Ugonzo and it helped him cope with the uncertainty he faced growing up. Now, Ugonzo is renowned for his surreal murals and trippy pop culture portraits. Creations of his are owned by the likes Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, Pauly Shore, UFC’s Cody Garbrandt from the UFC, and the NBA’s Deron Williams.
Looking to the future the power duo of DaRealGenius and Ugonzo plan to develop a play-to-earn metaverse game to allowing the PsychoKitties and Mad Hare Society communities to compete against each other. This is expected to be ready early 2023. They already created the world’s first NFT-gated MetaRave within a custom-built nightclub called 9 Livez. Their NFT projects have raised over $400,000 for charity. And they’re building the world’s first metaverse podcast. With their combined expertise and experience, DaRealGenius and Ugonzo are sure to bring more incredible creations into this world bringing people and communities together.
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