Snoop Dogg turns his blunts into $148,000 artworks

It is said that someone could turn water into wine. Snoop Dogg seems to have taken it as a personal challenge and now turns already smoked joints into works of art. The series, titled Ashes to Art, consisting of blunt butts smoked by the U.S. rap icon, was auctioned online on the 32auctions platform from Aug. 15 to 18, reaching a total of $148,100. The project stems from The Joint Venture, an initiative in which the rapper collaborates with artist and curator Erica Kovitz, and playfully and provocatively transforms personal relics and pop fetishes into works. These include the roach smoked by Snoop Dogg, which for the occasion are sealed in resin cases, often painted and enriched with pigments, glitter and small decorative elements, transforming what was so ephemeral that it had already been smoked into a true collector's item.

The most hotly contested piece of the auction was undoubtedly Snoop Doggy Dogg Genesis Burn, the artwork incorporating the iconic mugshot taken in 1993 by the Los Angeles Police Department of the singer, who was arrested for murder and later acquitted. Bruised at the edges with marijuana ash, complete with encapsulated butt, the photo signed with the historic alias "Snoop Doggy Dogg" reached a value of $70,000 alone. The other lots, placed between $9,000 and $16,500, included Doggystyle Decoded, a work encompassing an original CD of the 1993 album, a filter and a metal ashtray, and Tiphany Smokes, three roach encrusted as if hovering free on a poetic sky-blue background.

For now, the collection includes some 20 pieces, but the possibility of custom commissions is open: in addition to purchasing the resined relic, collectors can choose the roach and participate in the demonstration of the preservation process. After all, while it is true that it is uniqueness that makes a work a valuable relic, it is equally true that in this case no one would ever question the ability of its creator to produce countless others.

Born Calvin Broadus Jr. aka Snoop Dogg, he is one of hip hop's most celebrated and enduring rappers. He debuted in the early 1990s under the wing of Dr. Dre with Doggystyle (1993), a milestone of West Coast rap. In addition to music, Snoop Dogg has become a global figure through his laid-back style, humor, and collaborations with film, TV, fashion, and sports. Marijuana culture is an integral part of his image, symbolizing his activist commitment to legalization. He is no stranger to the world of visual art: he has collaborated with artists and brands, participated in exhibitions, digital works, and NFT projects sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Ashes to Art but the value of the pieces comes from the inclusion of personally consumed blunt butts. It's like buying Cristiano Ronaldo's ball after a historic goal or Michael Jordan's shoes in an NBA final: the object becomes a relic because it carries with it the history and energy-or, in Snoop's case, it would be better to say the iconic chill-of its owner.

Opening image: Snoop Dogg, Snoop Doggy Dogg Genesis Burn. Courtesy Joint Venture