DJ Kaku Trailblazes NFTs in Asia Ep 157

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Earlier this year there was a lot of buzz about this thing called NFTs.

These days you know that something’s definitely gone more mainstream when it’s talked about on The Ellen Show and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

What are NFTs, these non-fungible tokens? I was curious about the whole thing myself which is why I’ve asked Kaku, a Taiwan-based DJ to be my guest on this podcast. He’s a trailblazer in the NFT space, the first influencer not only from Taiwan but from Asia, to get into the NFT market.

I did some research in advance, to prepare for this interview as I do when dealing with a topic that I’m less familiar with. But as you’ll hear in the interview, I was learning all about NFTs as Kaku spoke to me. After the interview I did some further research, and re-listened to this interview as part of the editing process. That’s when I noticed that each time I listened to the interview, I picked up on something new.

If you’re really interested in learning more about NFTs, I encourage you to listen to this episode more than once to really understand what’s being discussed. Also check out the links to resources and articles that I’ve included in the Talking Taiwan show notes for this episode. And Kaku gives some great advice on how to understand what NFTs are.

One last thing, NFTs present an exciting opportunity but they are still in uncharted territory. Ultimately, it is your responsibility to safeguard your own assets, to do your research, and to protect yourself.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• Kaku’s upbringing and connection to Taiwan
• How he started DJing
• How he made DJing a career
• What he was doing before becoming a DJ
• How his style is different from other DJs in Asia
• His early interest in music
• His early musical interests and influences
• What it’s like being a professional DJ
• The challenges of being an Asian in the entertainment industry
• How the pandemic has affected him
• How Kaku was initially known for making the genre of music called Jersey Club
• A clip of the Jersey Club genre that Kaku is known for
• The track PASS OUT by Nitti Gritti & Gaeko (개코) & Kaku
• An exclusive preview of the new track BLINK by Kaku and Freekill featuring Elle Vee (due to be released in December)
• How Kaku is the first DJ in Asia who’s gotten into the NFT space
• Origin Protocol
• Audius
• 3lau (pronounced: boo-lao), the number one DJ in crypto and NFTs
• What is an NFT
• The different ways that NFTs can be used
• The challenges of protecting your intellectual property in the NFT space
• How Kaku got interested in NFTs
• What is blockchain technology?
• Counterfeit NFTs
• How NFT lingo is similar to sneaker culture
• Kaku’s first NFT and how it was related to the (RED) Foundation
• Kaku’s collaboration with an artist named Jonni Tsayto create his first NFTs to raise money for (RED)
• Kaku’s NFT collaboration with Jonni for the Inspiration4 NFT auction for SpaceX benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• How the Inspiration4 NFT auction raised about 200,00 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• How NFTs can be utilized to raise money for charity
• How Kaku created NFTs and collaborated with Jonni
• The events, promotion and education related to Kaku’s first NFT drop
• NFT projects that Kaku is promoting and working on
• Kaku’s plans for a future merch drop that’s connected to NFTs
• How NFT’s are used by musicians
• 0N1 Force the first anime-based NFT
• Ethereals art is hand-drawn by artist Jimmy Danko
• Purchasing NFTs
• How the profile picture NFT market works
• Profile picture based NFTs (aka PFP NFTs)
• When PFP NFTs are minted, it’s like a random raffle and comparable to opening a pack of Pokémon cards
• How social media has become an asset
• Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs
• The opportunity that NFTs presents for digital artists
• Protecting your access to NFTs and cryptocurrency
• Whether or not creators who intend to sell their NFTs need to already had a large following in order to be successful
• Kaku’s advice to join an NFT community on Discord to learn about NFTs
• How artists can make money with NFTs
• The environmental impact of NFTs
• Kaku’s advice for people who want to create NFTs
• What Kaku learned from his first NFT drop

Related Links:

Kaku on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kakuberry/

Kaku on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kakuberry

Kaku on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Cw0X67YSU7ugUFyPPd8mr?si=7DBJQGeYQGuo1RxRXB8Pwg

DJ Kaku on Sound Cloud: https://soundcloud.com/djkaku

A clip of the Jersey Club genre that Kaku is known for: https://soundcloud.com/djkaku/somethingmorekakuremix?si=143766c70d4447f0ae6bcc2296c2921d

PASS OUT by Nitti Gritti & Gaeko (개코) & Kaku: https://youtu.be/U_EXt44dJAU

Gaeko: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaeko

Origin Protocol:  https://www.originprotocol.com/en/

3LAU (leading DJ in the NFT market): https://3lau.com/

KAKU ups ante on ‘Dance (RED) Save Lives Vol. III’ with collaborative NFT drop [Q&A]: https://dancaingastronaut.com/2021/04/kaku-ups-ante-on-dance-red-save-lives-vol-iii-with-collaborative-nft-drop-qa/

Kaku’s first NFT drop: https://kaku.captureclub.cc/

Jonni Tsay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonni0409/

Dance (RED) Save Lives Vol. III album: https://dancingastronaut.com/2021/04/kaku-ups-ante-on-dance-red-save-lives-vol-iii-with-collaborative-nft-drop-qa/

(RED): https://www.red.org/

Inspiration4 NFT auction for SpaceX benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: https://spaceexplored.com/2021/09/13/check-out-the-nfts-being-auctioned-during-inspiration4-benefiting-st-jude/

https://nft.goingtospace.com/#/

Voyagers by Kaku featuring Jonni Tsay: https://nft.goingtospace.com/#/auction/155

Dr. Sian Proctor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sian_Proctor

Audius: https://audius.co/

0N1 FORCE: https://www.0n1force.com/

Ethereals: https://ethereals.wtf/

Jimmy Danko on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmydanko/

“The Future of NFTs: How PFP-Based Projects Took Over the Market” (an article from ArtNews): https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/pfp-nfts-future-market-1234602384/

OpenSea: https://opensea.io/

“Utility NFTs: What are They?” (an article from Medium): https://medium.com/blind-boxes/utility-nfts-what-are-they-9d1d989275d2

Bored Ape Yacht Club: https://boredapeyachtclub.com/#/

Discord: https://discord.com/

ThunderCore: https://www.thundercore.com/

Nifty Gateway: https://niftygateway.com/

Ellen Makes Her Own NFT (from The Ellen Show): https://youtu.be/LWazaUxseuU

What The F**k Are NFTs? (from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah): https://youtu.be/QlHVCZPlGjQ

NFTs, explained (from The Verge): https://www.theverge.com/22310188/nft-explainer-what-is-blockchain-crypto-art-faq

The Video That Will Get You To Start Your NFT Journey (from Gary Vaynerchuk): https://youtu.be/mEOYinDTeqE

6 BIG Problems for Artists Selling NFT Crypto Art in 2021 (Watch Before Minting!): https://youtu.be/msHRy-3WOaA