TAPZ GALLANTINO ENTERS THE METAVERSE | Funding Proposal

Application Type
Grant

Proposal Overview

On behalf of TAPZ GALLANTINO and the greater team, we are seeking funding to propel the release of Tapz’ upcoming debut album “ALL FOR WHAT” through the rollout of the album’s lead singles “THE WAY IT IS,” and “DESIGNER PAIN.” Upon the successful release of “METAL ON MY TEETH” via funding from Harmony’s ONEPITCH event, we are excited to move forward in exploring and ultimately securing a continued partnership with Harmony. Through a successful launch powered by web3, we are confident the rollout will not only materialize into sustainable and continuous success for TAPZ, but will undoubtedly attract close knit creative collaborators of TAPZ GALLANTINO – in line with our ultimate goal of bringing the next generation of global tastemakers into the Harmony ecosystem.

Tapz brings over 10 years of experience as an independent musician and creative. He first caught the attention of Apple Music’s Zane Lowe through the release of “KILLA,” a self-written and self-produced track that debuted on the charts alongside the likes of Adele and Justin Bieber. He found global success once again through his feature on Hermitude’s “The Buzz” which has over 100 million streams and counting on Spotify.

After claiming a #2 spot on Spotify’s Viral Charts and attention from industry vets across the world, it’s no surprise Tapz’ synth-like voice caught the attention of GOOD Management and the likes of Kanye West and Rick Rubin. This resulted in a deal with Kanye and his management team in 2018.

Although Tapz has proved his talent over the years, we truly believe this album serves as a turning point in his career – propelling him into the upper echelons of musical excellence.

We are partnering with Venice Music Co., a company which not only offers premium distribution and label services, but whose go-to-market strategy embraces and believes in the future of web3 in the music realm.

Through his years of experience and navigating the industry, TAPZ has been able to both befriend and collaborate with what we confidently consider the next up and coming creatives of this generation. We believe these creatives, whom we also proudly denote as global tastemaskers, would make excellent additions to the Harmony ecosystem:

Theo Outlandish - Zimbabwean born artist, specializing in Alternative Hip Hop. TAPZ sonically produced and co-wrote his debut EP. Upon Theo’s arrival to LA in May 2022, they will begin working on Theo’s debut album.

Tochi Bedford - Nigerian based developer, producer, and artist. Tochi has found success as a producer building alternative music palatable to the masses, paving a way to bridge Lagos and the globe via Santi and Odunsi The Engine. TAPZ and Tochi met 2 years ago via Web 2 – their relationship has developed from making music together to venturing into Web 3 in tandem. Tochi is currently solidity and programming on the Harmony blockchain.

Coco and Breezy - Coco and Breezy are DJs, visual artists and entrepreneurs. In 2009 they founded their eyewear company Coco and Breezy Eyewear. Which have been featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and more, but their most notorious design was the “third-eye” sunglasses they designed for the late Prince. TAPZ met the twins on his first visit to the United States in 2016, but had already connected with Coco via Web 2 for a year or so before that. Given the right opportunity, the sought-out duo is open to exploring a venture into Web3.

Yavez Antonio - Yavez Anthonio is a photographer & director based between Amsterdam and New York. With a strong IRL and Web2 presence Yavez has worked with the likes of Nike, Patta, Bape, Tommy Jeans, Adidas, Audi, Soulection, Daily Paper, Guess and GAP. Yavez and TAPZ’s relationship began in 2018. upon being introduced to each other through a mutual friend. sharing a lot in common as well as the same immigration attorney, they have stayed close and have continued to collaborate with each other on visual ideas as well as sonic ideas.

TJO (Johnatan Tremblay) - Blue chip visual NFT artist based in Canada who has worked with TAPZ on two visual pieces – one being TAPZ’s EP artwork released December 2021. Their support for each other’s creative and professional endeavors also led to TJO becoming TAPZ’s first collector in Web3 by purchasing TAPZ’s first NFT drop of a painting and animation titled “Working on Dying”.

Josef Adamu - Josef Adamu is a Creative Director and Consultant born and raised in Toronto, though now based in New York. In 2017, he founded Sunday School Creative, a marketing brand agency that caters to the development of creative campaigns and content marketing for some of the globe’s most reputable brands, from apparel, to music, to sports. Shortly afterwards, Josef and TAPZ met in New York and connected on their shared passion for their African roots. Josef’s work can be found through the streams of Facebook, Nike, Spotify, Converse, and many more.

Christine Kazanchian- Christine Kazanchian is an Armenian-American multi-media painter, dancer/choreographer, and model. Christine received her B.A. in Art History at Stanford University in 2018, during which she worked in Armenia as a translator for the Matenadaran Manuscript Repository in Yerevan and as a choreographer for a community theater in the city of Stepanakert, Armenia. TAPZ and Christine met upon her return to LA. And Now, based in her roots of Los Angeles, Christine is working towards her gallery debut in and out of the metaverse.

Babyboy Geniuse (Mzwetwo Gallantino) - Babyboy Geniuse* is a music and visual artist project by Zimbabwean born multidisciplinary (songwriter, producer, engineer, pianist, creative director, editor) artist Mzwetwo Gallantino. Together Mzwetwo and TAPZ founded GALLANTINO, an all encompassing creative household. Their connection began in their teens and together they’ve produced music that has charted all over the world. Despite their multidimensional creative relationship, TAPZ is currently on Mzwetwo’s team on the sonic side as “songwriter, producer, engineer,” and on the visual side as video editor, graphic designer, and art director.

Other notable collaborators and creatives in TAPZ’ network:

  • Sara Khalid
  • Sylvan Lewis
  • Tkay Maidza
  • Brent Faiyaz

The rollout of the 3 lead singles and the ALL FOR WHAT album will be accompanied by a visual component that can be divided into two parts: the physical artwork and their respective NFTs. TAPZ will be creating 19 physical paintings, each one of them aligned to a track in the album. The NFTs will each be based on the paintings, but with unique digital animations and twists. The NFTs will be released in pairs every month after the album release. Each NFT artwork will have multiple versions and TAPZ will gift at least half of them to his most loyal fans, who will then be onboarded to Web3 and be incentivized to promote TAPZ’s art and music – the power of the combination of fandom and ownership.

TAPZ will also be doing music NFT drops at one or more of the following platforms: Sound.xyz, Catalog, MintSongs, and/or Audius. Each platform has its own nuances, but all of these platforms offer a way for TAPZ to directly sell his music to fans using Web3 tools. Moreover, the platforms assist in marketing the drops, thus helping to maximize visibility and reach.

Both the visual and music NFTs will not only complement the ALL FOR WHAT album as a whole, but will also serve as TAPZ’s launchpad into Web3. By analyzing all digital wallets that have interacted with TAPZ’s NFT smart contracts, we will be able to map out his Web3 fans and do subsequent campaigns that will be like a snowball, increasing in assertiveness, size, and scope.

Once TAPZ reaches a critical mass of Web3 fans, we will launch the TAPZ GALLANTINO DAO. It will be a creator DAO, through which TAPZ will be able to finance and coordinate, together with his fans, on all aspects of his multifaceted artist career. We will launch the DAO through the Harmony ecosystem, onboarding all of his fans to Harmony, and subsequently set up governance mechanisms and stakeholders.

The intersection of culture, entertainment, and tech (web3 specifically) has never been more pertinent – and the relevancy will only increase as time goes on. TAPZ, who intends to serve as a bridge between Harmony and his ecosystem of multidisciplinary artists, is also very much looking forward to serving as a case study for other creatives looking to launch their career in the metaverse and beyond.

Team

Morgan Alston

Aside from being TAPZ GALLANTINO’s full time manager, she is also an Events & Experiences Manager at a marketing agency for film & TV. Prior to her joining the agency in Summer 2021, the remaining sum of Morgan’s professional career was spent at Appian for 5 ½ years. Her professional experience includes project and events management, data analysis and performance marketing, campaign and strategy development, as well as relationship building and client services. Morgan is also a part of the founding team of Social Crucifixion, an apparel brand and creative incubator.

Tapiwa Mutingwende

Tapiwa, on stage known as TAPZ GALLANTINO, is an Zimbabwean born multidisciplinary creative — outside of his personal creative endeavors, he’s the co-founder of an apparel brand and incubator for creatives on web3. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications.

Tochi Bedford

Tochi is a Nigerian based creative and developer currently learning solidity and programming on the harmony blockchain. Most recently, Tochi notably has production credits on Cruel Santino’s most recent album release, in addition to being a self-produced musician as well.

Erik Kim

Erik is a data scientist with a background in finance and business development. Serving as the team’s head web3 strategist and treasury manager, his previous experiences include: working as an analyst at BTG Pactual, LATAM’s biggest independent investment bank; founding a green coffee exporting company; and working in data analysis for the healthcare and crypto industries. A long-time crypto enthusiast, he is now working in the intersection of data, crypto, and culture at Social Crucifixion.

Advisors:

Kudz E. Taziva
George Hughes
Sammy Chand

Proposal Ask

$75,000

Justification

Mixing & Mastering - $10k
Music Video Production - $5k
Press Support - $15k
Digital Marketing - $20k
Creation, minting, and distribution on the blockchain & NFTs - $15k
Team - $10k

Metrics for Success

Month 1

  • Launch TAPZ GALLANTINO Creator DAO
  • 50k album streams
  • Host 2 Twitter Spaces
  • Begin expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities
  • Mint first phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

Month 2

  • 100k album streams
  • 1wallet integration for TAPZ GALLANTINO & Tastemakers
  • Continue expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities
  • Mint second phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

Month 3

  • 150k album streams
  • Host 2 Twitter Spaces
  • Continue expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities
  • Mint third phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

Month 4

  • 300k album streams
  • Continue expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities
  • Mint fourth phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

Month 5

  • 400k album streams
  • Host 2 Twitter Spaces
  • Continue expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities
  • Mint fifth phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

Month 6

  • 500k album streams
  • Continue expansion of TAPZ GALLANTINO Telegram, Twitter and Discord communities with a target audience size of 500 members across all tools
  • Mint sixth and final phase of NFTs aligned with album tracklist

External Links

TAPZ GALLANTINO | Official Website

TAPZ GALLANTINO | Spotify Profile

TAPZ GALLANTINO | Electronic Press Kit

2 Likes

Is this for real? :joy: :joy: :joy:

5 Likes

I don’t see anything good coming to harmony from this DAO. No charity here

4 Likes

Thank you for submitting a proposal to Harmony’s $300M Ecosystem Fund. We are in the process of reviewing your proposal and will assign a representative on behalf of the Grants Ops team.

We would also love :blue_heart: to have the Harmony community participate to ask questions and provide feedbacks.

If you have more details to add, please do so by replying to this thread.

3 Likes

This sounds amazing… Definitely need more creator-focused programming on here, speaking as a creator myself. Excited to follow this one, keep it up you guys

3 Likes

Are you seriously asking for money to film your music video here? Lmfaoooo, we are not some entertainment company or record label. If you want to be funded then get better and apply to be artist at any record label ffs

2 Likes

Sorry guys.
I cannot get behind and support this proposal.

I guess here is my takeaway. If you are already partnered with a business and expect 50-100k album streams per month. Why do you need $75k to film a video?

Do you not own the rights to your music?

4 Likes

Judging by these comments it seems that there is a misunderstanding, although much expected. How many times are the “creators” left to an after thought… And is Web3 not an opportunity for collaboration amongst all creators and mediums, whether through code, visual, or sonic experience? Is this not a space for everyone to build in? Our proposal is creator-, tastemaker-, and community-focused. Our ask is not to film a music video — mind you there is an ask for budget in the creation of a visual… A visual that is tied to a larger story, which explores the weaponisation of web tools to target minorities. A phenomenon which also exists in this space.

Our product, built and ran by a team with undeniable accomplishments, already has an ecosystem. What we are trying to do with Harmony is to set a precedent in the Web3 space, a space that already lacks diversity both in contributors’ identities and in its housed projects. We want to show creators that are intrigued by this space that this arena is built for them as-well, which it ultimately is. Harmony honoured this fact when they offered me a grant for a song release during NFTLA — this proposal is just furthering that conversation and building on the partnership more officially. From that smaller round alone we were able to build a successful campaign around a song titled “METAL ON MY TEETH”, along with expanding the Web3 initiative and minting 2 NFTs of the song’s associated visuals (paintings in this case) via Manifold which we listed on OpenSea and sold within 7 days of the listing… One to a blue chip artist and collector. There are other platforms we could build this on, but from what we have seen, harmony encourages forward thinking the most. We have also seen that Harmony has initiatives to offer tools to Africa via an approved Harmony African DAO. I am in fact African (Zimbabwean), with an African network of builders and creators (it’s come to my attention that there seems to be a distinction) — the puzzle pieces naturally fit together.

Not only is it important to build a bridge between creators and builders (ironically the same thing), but also a bridge between nations — we take decentralised to mean it’s for everybody. We hope you feel the same.

Best

3 Likes

Can you tell us more about this? How much did you get for a song with 126 views? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opc-iJdTZ18)

One of the NFTs was bought by her (https://opensea.io/alyssagilbert), a profile that was created just in time to the release and didn’t interact ever since.

Thanks!

3 Likes

Straight up flopped, can’t believe harmony paid for this thing

3 Likes

Good evening @Chak_Raam @dpagan-harmony,
Could one of you please update the community on where this proposal stands on being approved or denied?

Also, could you please explain the sentence written from the DAO proposer? Is someone at these Harmony events really making deals just by conversation? Can anyone on the Harmony team make a business decision like this on their own? If not, what is the current approval process?

Harmony honoured this fact when they offered me a grant for a song release during NFTLA — this proposal is just furthering that conversation and building on the partnership more officially.

Not blaming anyone here but I just want the team to understand. More people heard this person’s song at LANFT than they have on the entire internet.

I appreciate your time!

5 Likes

Loving the enthusiasm and open dialogue. The grant around the METAL ON MY TEETH campaign was awarded during NFTLA at Harmony’s walk in 2 minute pitches — Shark Tank style. It was plenty fun, but most importantly, innovative and informative. If any of you can make it to LA for the next one, I would very much recommend it! Skin in the game goes a long way… We also believe in an open source radical transparency mindset. Going off of that, the current metrics across Web2 platforms since the song’s release 11 days ago are;

An article feature on 10 Magazine surrounding the ‘METAL ON MY TEETH’ release. Across the board via Instagram — Native and Stories, Tik Tok, Twitter, Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music, the song has organically accumulated around 7K viewership, as-well as 20 playlist adds on Spotify. Although humble in contrast to projects we have released in the past that were powered by traditional Record Labels, one being ‘The Buzz’ which collectively has over 100M streams. We believe more in the 7K viewership from METAL ON MY TEETH, as every listen and view counts considering this is a new demographic being introduced to a project powered by Harmony. Web3 is an ecosystem that is worth leaving the major label system for — to build a forward thinking approach to the mindset and environment around the distribution and consumption of the sonic experience.

As for the minting of the “Working On Dying” NFTs (METAL ON MY TEETH’s associated painting) — the first one was collected by Blue-Chip NFT artist TJO. As for the second NFT, on the other hand, was collected by a Google employee — we were inspired that the movement empowered their curiosity about the space to take actionable steps and become a participant for the first time. Not only did the grant allow for us to onboard into the METAVERSE — with a genesis offering, it also inspired others to onboard — which is priceless, and is aligned with this proposal. We wouldn’t be here on Talk Harmony One if we all didn’t believe this arena is built for expansion.

We’ll be waiting patiently with you on where this proposal stands on being approved or denied, thanks for joining us on the journey!

Best

3 Likes

We also believe in an open source radical transparency mindset.

We believe in it too. How much did you get from Harmony for the song?

5 Likes

Good morning,
I appreciate you taking the time to respond back to my statements.

You are stating that web2 has basically failed artists when it comes to being in complete control of their music, royalties, etc.

My problem with that is I have a buddy that works for Interscope records as a producer. He created his own LLC fresh out of HS with hardly $400 in his bank account to this day has no issues with royalty payments or rights to his own samples.

My ending thoughts:

If web3 is all about giving people the ability to control their own destiny and products. Then how is that any different to today’s setup? In web3, ‘You’ would still have to pay for ‘your’ own samples (tracks), studio time, marketing, etc. 99% of artist fail in web2 and 99% will fail in web3.

Would love to get your feedback on that part.

1 Like

Sorry for the delayed response, today was busy from the meetings and opportunities from the METAL ON MY TEETH release.

And the pleasure is mine, conversations like this are what form a revolution. In regards to Web2, in fact it hasn’t entirely failed artists — to your example of your friend — I wonder if I know who he is seeing as, upon my first release that brought me to the USA, Interscope were the first label that held serious conversations with my lawyer. I am here today because of Web2 and the current system — with less than $400 in my account I moved to the states from New Zealand because of it, but what Web3 introduces is the opportunity for new politics. I wonder where it will take us - and wherever it is we’re all here because we believe in something. Politics that if partnered with platforms like Harmony would shape a friendly future for creatives than the one that Web2 offers.

And yes the 99% fail so the 1% succeed, and most times we’ve been the 99% but some times we’re in a 1%, and doesn’t that mean something? And at this moment, if you’re here, you’re in the 1%. We understand that with forward thinking, it takes time for people to fully understand the importance of this proposal — regardless the mission continues — see you on the road.

Best

1 Like

Can you answer this?

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No from me because: 1. You are counting on NFT sales (probably jpegs) 2. A music video with 126 views lol. Even if harmony went this direction it would be better to cooperate with already established/successful studios/artists

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That’s just it.
Web3 is not supposed to be about ‘politics’ or ‘governing bodies’
Web3 is for you to control your own destiny just as you can in Web2.

In web3, you will be able to create your own content without Youtube and other sources taking a piece of the pie. Here is the problem where it lies for you.

How are you going to attract a fan base in Web3? You will have to front all costs. Media, marketing, studio time, etc.

I seriously would like to understand how web3 would help. Maybe I am missing something here.

Take care!

Hi @amartay1986,

Media, marketing, studio time and similar activities are exactly why we’ve requested upfront funding, as outlined in the Justification section. As to your closing statement, we’ve detailed the reasoning that in the proposal, as well as in one of TAPZ’ responses, and encourage you to read it again! Thanks so much for the interest in this proposal and dialogue – we love sharing our vision with those who challenge and have preconceived notions around creatives entering the space.

Best,

1 Like

Hello, @amartay1986

Happy to see you across the talk forum asking questions and providing feedback. And thank you for keeping the comments constructive and respectful.

The status of this proposal is in the “to review” stage.

This was a Shark Tank style event at NFTLA where a panel of 5 individuals from harmony were giving out small grants. For Metal on my Teeth they were given a one-time $2K grant from the panel.

I cannot comment on this, I was not on the panel that was responsible for grant approvals. However, I think there may be a misinterpretation of her comment. “We want to show creators that are intrigued by this space that this arena is built for them as-well, which it ultimately is. Harmony honoured this fact when they offered me a grant for a song release during NFTLA — this proposal is just furthering that conversation and building on the partnership more officially.”

This does not mean Harmony has honored or promised a $75K gran, but that Harmony is a place where creators from Web2 can come to Web3.

1 Like