Binance, the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider has announced that London-based, Nigerian musician-artist, NISSI OGULU, has launched ‘Jigsaw Tribe’, an exclusive NFT For Good collection on the Binance NFT Marketplace in collaboration with Binance Charity.
The digital art series features a collection of unique pieces exploring the musical heritage of Africa through ancient yet animated instruments, ‘Jigsaw Tribe’. It explores the different facets of life and music, each represented as a puzzle piece.
“With ‘Jigsaw Tribe’, my intention is to take you across the continent to discover hand-crafted musical instruments, in all their colourful glory, that may not be known to the rest of the world. The pieces also reflect the music tradition of Africa, with its amazing sounds, in a hyper-contemporary and animated artistic expression,” says Nissi.
This NFT collection comprises of NFTs with various rarity levels and pricing, added value utilities include invitations to live events and art exhibitions to concessions on signed & printed digital art pieces and whitelisting privileges to future NFT drops.
The exclusive artwork series will be sold in a premium auction on the Binance NFT Marketplace between May 30th and June 20th, 2022. This is the latest collaboration for Binance Charity’s NFT For Good Campaign, an initiative that enables world-renowned creators to convert their art and creativity into meaningful global action targeting social and humanitarian issues. As part of this, a percentage of proceeds will go to The Reach, an Ogulu family initiative that provides 6000 meals a month for underprivileged people in Nigeria along with other ad hoc community initiatives.
“Binance Charity’s NFT for Good initiative connects creators, their art, and their cause. Jigsaw Tribe is yet another exciting example of this and it’s beautiful to see the series merging tradition and technology. Having spent many years working in Africa, the region, the people and their culture hold a special place in my heart. I’m thrilled we’re able to collaborate with Nissi in a homage to her heritage.” said Helen Hai, Executive VP of Binance and Head of Binance Charity.
Born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, into a highly creative family, Nissi’s older brother is Burna Boy (dubbed ‘the African Giant’) and her grandfather is Benson Idonije who was an Afrobeat legend and Fela Kuti’s manager. She credits entertainment business mogul, Bose Ogulu, her mother, who she describes as a “powerhouse”, for her and her sibling’s flair for creativity and innovative thinking. Her sister, Ronami, is also a genius in the world of fashion and creative strategy.
As an artist, Nissi has worked with a variety of mediums but found her niche in the world of fine art with her unconventional, contemporarily driven style of paintings and artistic innovative design. She has further expanded her deep involvement in the digital realm with her founding of Creele Animation Studios, which creates black and African content with storytelling through animation, music, the metaverse and games.
“What excites me is the fact that African music and culture are finally getting the renown and success they so richly deserve as being integral to global music and creativity. So, the collection is my artistic take on bringing the continent’s vibrant music tradition and all-around creative brilliance to the world, this time in an animated way,” says Nissi.
To participate in this charitable auction in support of the Binance Charity, traders need to open a cryptocurrency account on binance.com and bid for the artwork on https://www.binance.com/en/nft between 30 May 2022 (12:00pm CAT) and end on 20 June 2022 (12:00pm CAT). Trades will be accepted in BNB, the cryptocurrency coin that powers the Binance ecosystem.
On May 25, 2022, Nissi joined Helen Hai for a live ‘Binance Charity Chats’ on Binance YouTube, discussing her eagerly anticipated NFT For Good drop. Watch here.
Art Collection includes An African Playground, Gan Gan, Griot, Hammar, Mama Chivoti, Nzumari, Sweet Tambourine Zulu Horn, and To My Fans.
- An African Playground: The conga, aka tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Although the exact origins of the conga drum are unknown, researchers agree that it was developed by Cuban people of African descent during the late 19th century or early 20th century. Its ancestors are thought to be the yuka and makuta (of Bantu origin) and the bembé drums (of Yoruba origin). Congas were originally used in Afro-Cuban music genres such as conga (hence their name) and rumba, where each drummer would play a single drum. Congas have become a popular instrument in many forms of Latin music such as son (when played by conjuntos), descarga, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa, songo, merengue, and Latin rock.
- “Gan Gan”: An instrument in the percussion family that originates from West Africa. This hourglass-shaped drum can be traced back to the olden days and is known by a variety of names including the gangan in Yoruba and doodo in Songhai. They are referred to as “talking drums” because they are able to be tuned to mimic the sound of human speech in terms of tone and accent such as emotion.
- GRIOT: A griot is a West African storyteller, singer, musician, and oral historian. They train to excel as orators, lyricists, and musicians. The griot keeps records of all the births, deaths, and marriages through the village or family generations. Griots today live in many parts of West Africa and are present among the Mande peoples (Mandinka or Malinké, Bambara, etc.), Hausa, Songhai, Tukulóor, Wolof, Serer, Mossi, Dagomba, and many other smaller groups. In addition to being singers and social commentators, griots are often skilled instrumentalists. Their instruments include the kora, the khalam (or xalam), the goje (or n’ko in the Mandinka language), the balafon, the junjung, and the ngoni.
- HAMMAR: This horn of the Hamar tribe of Ethiopia is usually played at the jumping ceremonies where the women and girls get into a frenzy through their dance, song, and horn blowing as their traditional ritual of strength is being performed.
- MAMA CHIVOTI: This instrument is the only one of its kind found in Kenya. It is longer than most wind or string instruments, made from bamboo, and is similar to a flute with six holes. It is used mostly as a mellow outro instrument in a musical routine.
- NZumari: The Zumari instrument also known as Nzumari of the eastern African coast, South Somalia is a conical double reed of wood or horn and metal having four to six finger holes. In East Africa, the spread of the cone oboe likely started from the island of Lamu and some ethnic groups belonging to the Mijikenda on the Kenyan coast.
- SWEET TAMBOURINE: A musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame (wood or plastic) with metal jingles referred to as “zills”. The origin of the tambourine is unknown, but it appears in historical writings as early as 1700 BC and was used by ancient musicians in West Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, and India. Tambourines were also used in ancient Egypt.
- ZULU HORN: An African horn trumpet may be made from the horn of most any animal, such as elephant horns used by the Akan people of Ghana (crafted before legal bans on the use of ivory) or a cow horn, as in the “side-blow” Ugandan trumpet known as the eng’ombe. A traditional African horn trumpet may appear more in ceremonial or ritual music than in popular music. Zulu warriors blow antelope horns known as kudu horn.
- TO MY FANS: A special NFT love letter to Nissi’s fans, emphasizing her journey from child to adulthood and the pieces of the puzzle – the inspirations in her life – which have made her the artist and musician she is today.
