Former hip-hop artist MC Serch is selling his executive rights to two of Nas’ greatest albums, “Illmatic” and “It Was Written.”
A founding member of the 3rd Bass, the first successful multi-ethnic rap group, MC Serch (born Michael Berrin) is ready to sell his holdings in Nas’ legendary catalog.
Serch, who went on to become a rap music executive, has a net worth estimated to be $800,000.
The MC Serch-Nas Connection
Serch has owned executive producer rights to “Illmatic” and “It Was Written” for 27 years through his companies, Serchlite Publishing and Serchlite Music.
“I have decided to sell all of the rights, including the global rights,” Serch told AllHipHop. “I started conversations with several companies a few months ago. For 27 years, it has provided my family through good times and bad. Now it’s time for a new chapter.”
Nas’s Classics
The “Illmatic” album is considered one of the breakthrough albums on the East Coast. The album debuted in 1994 and was a sleeper hit, initially selling well during its first week before sales started to dwindle slowly. Over time, appreciation for the album improved, with music critics and fans saying the album’s street consciousness was ahead of its time.
Rolling Stone ranked “Illmatic” No. 44 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The 10-song album was chosen to be included in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress.
Meanwhile, “It Was Written” debuted in 1996 and became Nas’ most successful album, featuring Lauryn Hill in “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That).”
MC Serch’s ‘Scam Operation’?
At the beginning of 2022, it was reported that MC Serch, alongside label executive Rory Felton, and venture capitalists Ryan Singer and Blake Modersitzki, created an NFT-selling platform called HitPiece that allowed users to sell musicians’ work without permission on behalf of the artists.
Snippets of songs from artists like John Lennon and Muse, and recordings from major brands from Pokémon and Disney have been sold. The Recording Industry Association of America has threatened the platform with legal action, calling HitPiece a “scam operation.”
The website was briefly shut down and rebranded in August. Now, HitPiece uses music rights identification company Audible Magic to officially become “the easiest place to buy authentic music artist NFTs.”
Selling off Rights Becoming a Trend
As Finurah previously reported, many artists are opting to sell off the rights to theIr music catalogs. In the hip-hop world, this has included former Murder Inc. record label owner Irv Gotti as well as artists Future and Chuck D.
