Ben Caesar

I was born in Dominica, a Caribbean island, and grew up traveling to the UK, Amsterdam, South Africa, U.S.A and different islands in the Caribbean with my activist mother. I've seen so many different sides of the world and met so many different types of people, which has been the best education and inspiration for me as an artist. Being able to express my experiences through my art is therapy. I’m so grateful to know this is what I love doing and what I feel is the best I can give the world. So, if there's anything that defines me, it's probably that. In high school, you can imagine, traveling so much I had an identity crisis. Like a midlife crisis in my teens hahaha. Just like any teenager you're trying to figure out who you are. You're trying to find a community, a culture, a place to place yourself. There were no other Caribbean people in South Africa, so it's like, who am I, right? And I started writing just to kind of squeeze my thoughts onto the page and have some kind of process. It was so therapeutic that I haven't stopped since. And then trying to figure out how to make it a career, make it something that I can also contribute to other people on their journeys. That's, I guess, the constant unfolding, right? You know, I come from hip-hop culture, battle raps, park jams, cyphers, freestyles, the whole thing. I have also been in many mainstream spaces, TV, radio, top clubs, festivals and main stages, but I have Also been way outside hip-hop and the mainstream. Like I got to be at protests meet people on the fringe of society from the activism my mother was doing. Or I wrote and performed spoken word on tour with Madame Zingara, which is similar to Cirque du Soleil, and had performers from all around the world including Mongolia and Austria. So, my experience isn’t what most rappers go through. Additionally, I worked at Warner Brothers World, producing and directing music for their shows. My life has always been a mix of polarizing realities and having to adapt to them. My friends have been trading in crypto for a few years, so it has been on my radar. Even back in 2015, I knew that friends were getting into mining and such, but I couldn't see how it related to me. Then I was invited to perform at Blockchain World, an event Arts DAO had a stage at. My boy Diego and I had been discussing NFTs because he was heavily involved in crypto, and we had already worked together in music for a number of years. He suggested, "Ben, let's get into NFTs," and I had seen social media posts about them, and I was like, "This is dope!" However, I didn't have any access points. I didn't have anyone who was really doing it, so it wasn't a reality for me yet, you know? That was the first time I spoke to people who knew about it, but Danosch and Anas said, "Look, we've got a Web3 community. Join in, you're welcome." That was incredible because you have so many people from so many different experiences - people who launched projects, creatives, traders, founders, degens, devs and VC’s. So I was put into a very strong community that I could orientate and learn from. That accelerated everything. So we've been building TIGXA for the past two years. Even before I became aware of Web3, I was really obsessed with this idea of an anime and music world that people can connect to the characters through the music. Working at Warner Bros., I really learned the power of stories and original characters, and it's been an obsession. Web3 just made total sense to me, and we dropped our first NFT to see what it would be like functionally and psychologically. You know, bro, dropping your first NFT is a trip, something you have to do. So I wanted to go through that process, but since that point, I've really focused on learning. I'm speaking to everybody that I can, including people who’ve built blockchains, people who launched projects, and people who build communities. That's what I've really focused my time on. To have a really solid foundation. And I'm very fortunate cos you can't pay for this kind of education. I've just fully immersed myself in learning as much as I can and building. Honestly, bringing as much value as I can for other people. That's something Web3 has taught me. So now, “how can I be of service?” Is the first question I ask. That's been incredible because that attitude and that approach has opened a lot of doors for me. People have been a lot more receptive because a lot of people move in crypto and Web3 by talking sharp and shilling, but I don't think that's the best way to engage in a conversation. And honestly, for the first time in my career, really focusing on building community. I think as artists, that's not a primary focus. We focus on the art and our presentation, right? But what I've learned in Web3 is to make contact and meaningful bonds. What’s Web3, well, it's a reset. That's what I call it. It's a reset of how we engage in a digital landscape where we can own a part of the digital experience, we can make a choice in what we invest in and what we own. We can mark our places and we can support things meaningfully. It’s a reset on how we perceive value. I think it’s so important to question that in a digital age.