Rapper and actor Eminem has given bitcoin's public awareness another boost, giving it a mention in a song on his just-released album, "Kamikaze."
In track dubbed "Not Alike," fellow artist Royce Da 5'9' – who guest features on the piece – raps:
"Remember everybody used to bite nickel, now everybody doing bitcoin."
The album was launched on midnight Thursday in a surprise announcement by Eminem, according to reports. His previous release was "Revival" in December 2017.
While the crypto citation is unlikely to bump the price of bitcoin, it comes as the latest mainstream entertainment industry reference to the top cryptocurrency by market valuation.
In one of the most memorable mentions, chat-show host Ellen DeGeneres took a humorous look at cryptocurrency in her regular show back in February. "Everybody is talking about bitcoin," she said, but, "nobody understands it."
She went on to say about investors in bitcoin, "You'll either be a millionaire or you'll be totally broke."
A month later, John Oliver poked fun at the bitcoin community and reminded viewers to take care when investing in his "Last Week Tonight" show. Grabbing the headlines at the time, he compared bitcoin's volatile price to a $15,000 Beanie Baby and said cryptocurrency was gambling, not investing.
The rap industry has helped raise the profile of cryptocurrency in ways other than recordings too.
Rapper 50 Cent's move to accept bitcoin for his 2014 "Animal Ambition" album was reported in January to have made him a crypto millionaire, though he denied owning bitcoin in a bankruptcy court case a month later.
And in March, Young Dirty, the son of late Wu Tan Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, was involved in the launch of a new cryptocurrency called Dirty Coin. The token was intended to help raise funding for an upcoming Young Dirty album, as well as a means for fans to access shows and buy merchandise.
Most recently, in May, Snoop Dogg performed at an event in New York set up to celebrate XRP, a cryptocurrency associated with blockchain payments startup Ripple.
Hat tip to Forbes
Eminem image via E.J. Hersom/Wikipedia
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