When you hear, bitcoin what comes to mind? Crypto? Blockchain? ETF? How about music? We met someone looking to change this perception and make bitcoin more relatable to the masses through music, meet Man Like Kweks. A husband, father, teacher, and part-time musician who “sees the world through a purple lens with the orange blend” – a quote from the track SPC referring to NOSTR (purple) and Bitcoin (orange)
The Xmas road trip brought us together. We were fortunate to spend more time with him and his family during our month-long stay in Arusha. I’m no musician but watching the process was surprising. There was no studio, no fancy gear, just his iPhone and his car to record in. One stroll and he had the verses going. The skill was always there. Bitcoin and NOSTR gave him a superpower.
If you’re scratching your head, let me explain. Traditionally, artists monetize their tracks by going viral, getting sponsors, or selling merch. Bitcoin + NOSTR allows him to get ‘zapped’ money for his tracks. Anyone with an Internet connection can instantly zap him as little as one satoshi (100M satoshi = 1 bitcoin) if they like or value the track. As a creator, putting value out can result in getting value back instantly. For instance, his track Gorilla Sats has received roughly 250K sats (0.0025 BTC).
NOSTR (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) is a decentralized and censorship-resistant protocol enabling users to publish content without relying on central parties. One application of this, is Wavlake, a music platform allowing artists to ‘stream anywhere and earn everywhere’. You’ll find Man Like Kweks here. With such technology, he’s extremely open to sharing his tracks for collaborations, remixes or to be used as a background score. No copyright nonsense. “I’m open source about my dreams, I know any change got to start with me” – POWA
He’s climbed Kilimanjaro multiple times and even crowdfunded his first ascent through bitcoin. With his talents and work ethic, the sky is the limit. Don’t be surprised to see him as the headline performance at a nearby concert soon.
Next time you hear ‘bitcoin’ think of music it may remove the negative bias the media perpetuates.
Check out this recent track, No Paper No Visa. “My money ain’t got no leader, my money ain’t got to Ceaser.” If you want something more futuristic Epoch 5 is a great one. “My life was square, now it’s measured in blocks.”
Sources:
Man Like Kweks: https://wavlake.com/man-like-kweks
SPC: https://wavlake.com/track/3430b377-4052-4269-8feb-a2d439d45e3b
POWA: https://wavlake.com/track/097e2264-41f2-4fba-aa38-dc24cfcfc3b7
No paper no Visa https://wavlake.com/album/d2cec8c3-72b9-4c3b-a252-53512a7f6a04
Epoch 5: https://wavlake.com/track/5127df3d-cf9b-40b6-b081-508df98ad9d4