gm, I’m Zaal — and here’s how I fell down the Web3 rabbit hole and started building a movement for independent artists.
It started with GameStop.
When GME was frozen by hedge funds, I saw how rigged the system really was.
That moment pulled me into crypto — first through the GameStop Wallet, then the GameStop NFT marketplace.
That’s when I realized: tokenization is how musicians finally take ownership of their art.
At the time, I was managing @jangouuforever in the traditional music industry.
My entire job was to spend my time so he could spend his making music — and that felt like enough. Until it wasn’t.
I saw artists receiving less than 50% of the value of what they created, and no one in power seemed to care.
Web3 lit the fire because it erased all the old gatekeeping.
No one online knew my age or background — and suddenly, that meant I could build.
I’d always had a deep background in tech and gaming.
But when I found crypto, my world expanded from just being a manager to becoming a founder.
So I launched The ZAO ( @thezao ) — a decentralized impact network focused on demystifying emerging technology to empower independent artists.
The goal: bring the profit margin, data, and IP rights back to the independents.
What began in Twitter Spaces has grown into full-on cultural infrastructure:
ZAOCHELLA (ZAO Festivals) – Our flagship IRL/URL festival
StudentLoanz ($LOANZ) – A Web3-native solution to education debt
The Respect Game – Governance through soulbound respect tokens
WavewarZ ( @wavewarz ) – Music battles, wager dApps, and organized chaos
ZAO Calendar – A global map of artist-led, community-powered events
We build through music, memes, and movement — because culture moves faster than code.
I’m not creating another platform for artists to beg from.
I’m building tools so they never have to.
The wildest part? People now volunteer their time, energy, and money to push this vision forward. That’s what keeps me going.
If you're here, I want you to feel like you've finally found a safe space for builders in Web3.
Explore the rabbit hole: nexus.thezao.com
DMs open if you're down to build, jam, or just ask questions.
Let’s build this better.
– ZAAL 5 replies
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