Become God.

Since April 2021, I’ve been embarking on an adventure. Slowly pulling from everything I know to build a universe so grand that I could live in it.

Since the launch of the crowdfund in December, I’ve had the immense pleasure of embarking on this journey with my friends, my team, and even had the chance to meet some new faces and delve deep into their personal stories and histories.

And still, day by day, it feels like reality is slowly splitting at the seams, revealing a gross underbelly that’s been festering for generations. Every step we take forward it feels like we march closer to the end of it all.

However, the End of Everything only marks the beginning of something special.

We need developers, filmmakers, musicians, artists, myth-makers, and dreamers to join us in this grand adventure.

We’re embarking on a great odyssey. I’ve said multiple times, in multiple spaces, that web3 is only better when we build with each other. So I ask humbly that you share this crowdfund with your peers, hop in however you can, and prepare yourself as we rewrite history, religion, and the future of collaborative storytelling, **together.
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What’s Next?

So as a preface, the additions and perks of $ICON ownership has nothing to do with utility, instead everything I’ve engineered is specifically tailored to enhance the collaborative storytelling engine that is the (icon) universe. The blueprint however, is open-source. After we are all dead and gone, the lost ideas of the Gnostic Gospels and the journey we all took together in telling this epic will be cemented permanently on-chain as modern HISTORY, and will be a building block for future creators to pull from in order to build their own universes.

This final push is to make sure that it happens in the most spectacular way possible. Here are some of the things I want to build in the next year with the (icon)DAO once it launches.

The Seventy Elders Update & JoTM

To update everyone, we have now 21+ CONFIRMED Elders. That is CRAZY. The first cohort of Elders includes some of your Web3 faves, including Drift, Jah, Heno, Andre Oshea, Lomedia, and even some more goats not mentioned, and even still more yet to be confirmed. A star-studded cast if I do say so myself.

Starting July 4th, The Elder’s Project will launch officially. All Elders NFT’s will be updated according to the information given to me in our Ideation Sessions, as well as the start of The Journey of a Thousand Miles (JoTM), a live, DM-led roleplaying experience where we take the Elders through Middle America and allow them to freely explore the land as their actions and the consequences that stem from them are permanently recorded on chain as modern history. (for inspo, see: Critical Role)

If you are of Afro-American descent and would love to be a part of the first cohort of Elders, shoot me a DM on Twitter or email me at atm@blvkhvnd.com.

If you do not fit in that category but want to cement yourself in Middle America anyway, contribute to the crowdfund! I’ll be hosting meetings and events for members of the (icon)DAO to not only shape the trajectory of the Gospel of Mark, but also to pitch alternative characters that you can pilot in JoTM.

Film, Music, & Art

“The Gospel of Mark” Comic Series

I wont be speaking too much on this, more explicit details and options will be given to (icon)DAO members exclusively. However what I can say, is that the Gospel of Mark comic will be a way for people to follow the story of the main cast, bring in new eyes from outside of web3, and will be affected by the actions of the Elders and other characters in-universe. Join in to become a part of it.

New Website

Another short-term goal is to build a robust website to house all the information within the world. I already have my as a stopping point for all things (icon), but I want to expand on that even further.

-An interactive 2.5D map of Middle America that will allow you to follow the Trial of the 70, the actions of the Seventy Elders, and view important landmarks and locations.

-An ever changing glossary with the creatures, characters, and locations of the universe, as well as the pieces of history and religion where they stem from and where to find and read them for yourself.

If you’re a developer interested in the universe, I NEED you. Join us.

Short Films

The next step includes creating short form film content showcasing not only the main story, but also some of the events in the universe’s history that paved the way for the tale being told at the present time. Plot and characters will be voted on using (icon)DAO governance. (see: “Gehenna”)

Music and the (icon) Choir

My final dream is a collaborative web3 album featuring all of your web3 faves. My team here in Nashville is hard at work building the sonic skeletons of such an undertaking. More details will be revealed to the DAO as they present themselves.

I believe that music and visual art go hand in hand, and whenever they accompany each other it creates a rich artistic landscape for you to get lost in, which is my ULTIMATE goal.

You may be wondering, why are you making an album? Are you a musician?
The answer is no, however I have a rich history with music, from working in my local industry as a creative director to my past as a tenor/bass in my churches choirs over my life, which drives me to build the (icon)Choir. As the structure of the album becomes more flushed out, I’ll be releasing call-to-actions asking for talented voices to join me in this audio-visual undertaking. The (icon)Choir will also be used in IRL events, activations, and short form film content. Stay tuned for more.

(icon)DAO

if you’ve been reading along up until this point, you’ll probably notice I’ve referenced the (icon)DAO quite a bit.

The (icon)DAO will be a governing board that can vote on key points in the story, characters, and how the multimedia IP will look and operate in the traditional industry. Not only will they have access to the music, films, art, and irl events that will stem from this venture, but also a percentage of the proceeds and royalties that will come from from the IP in the form of games, films, books, and events.

Certain (icon)DAO members will also be able to participate in The Journey of a Thousand Miles (333 $ICON min.) as custom characters, monsters, and other mythical beings.

The (icon) universe crowdfund will end June 31st. Join in while you can!

Other Forms of Entry:

All Elders and (icon) universe NFT owners are granted access to the DAO and will have the power to shape the Gospel of Mark as it’s told! If you like the universe so far and want to help make it happen or own a piece of blockchain history, consider picking up one of these NFTs!

Additional Info:

If you need a re-hash on the inception of this project and the history of the universe, check out the initial crowdfund page here.

Also check out some of the interviews I’ve had about the universe and my artistry below.

(not listed: ZoraFM “The Big Bang”)