BUFFERING...

I am a 23 year-old independent artist from a small town in South Africa. An atypical, non-traditional mixed kid, taking up space in Web3 to revolutionize the music industry.

I am…

KAIEN CRUZ.

MY STORY

I released my very first song ‘Love Me In The Dark’ with a local DJ, after my older sister heard me singing in my bedroom and eagerly dragged me to the studio. No one really knew I could sing or play guitar, until the song ended up on the radio. It quickly began topping the Apple Music charts in South Africa & getting nominated for a South African Music Award. A couple of months later, I sang at my second live performance ever in front of 90,000 people opening up for Justin Bieber’s Purpose Tour.

Fast forward, I moved to LA just before the pandemic, released an EP called ‘Demos For Ransom’, got signed to CAA, went on my first US Tour & have been booked to perform at major festivals. For a year now, myself, my mgmt + creative director have all been living in a one bedroom apartment doing everything we can to push forward my projects and ideas. My EP “Demos for Ransom” was unfortunately made with producers who tried to sign me to a production deal that was outrageous. However, after going through the process of releasing music independently with my team, it inspired me to pursue different alternatives to grow my career.

WHY WEB3

Growing up queer in a small town meant it was always easier to talk to people online that I could relate to. Platforms like Tumblr played a big role in cultivating a space & community, where I could connect with like-minded people. I have found this same sense of connectivity & community in Web3.

After the success of my independently funded & pushed EP, I went on multiple different label runs, meeting execs from every major label. I quickly realized that a lot of people in the music industry didn’t understand the vision of what I was trying to create, not allowing me to have full creative control and reins on my future. Technology, music & entertainment go hand-in-hand, so naturally, I have a big interest in creating a community with Web3 that can be a part of my journey & career as an artist, while simultaneous creating a blueprint for aspiring artists that want to retain creative control as well.

I want to encourage others to stop fighting for a seat at a table that was never built for them and instead create their own table, specially curated to their needs, interests and passions!

BUFFERING…

You are now in the loading zone for Asteria. In the meantime, listen while you wait.

1. Fa111en Angels
2. OTW
3. Can’t Say No

Project is completed.

I am seeking 20 ETH in exchange for 20% of the $CRUZ supply - to help fund my career & retain creative control.

We will be using the funds to pay producers and PR. Everyone that owns $CRUZ tokens will receive exclusive access to merch, live performances & private parties.

How It Works

This crowdfund is looking to raise 20 ETH in exchange for exclusive access to merchandise, future releases and headlining shows. Our intention is to share a percentage of Web3 related offerings with token holders through a community treasury.

The access of the respective merchandise, future project and shows will be shown through tier rankings based on the amount of $CRUZ ownership. By purchasing $CRUZ social tokens, you will be helping fund my career.

For all ETH contributed, backers will receive $CRUZ tokens.

The crowdfund is capped at 20 ETH. It will run for 30 days, or until the hard cap has been reached.

All $CRUZ holders will receive access to the CRUZ CTRL Discord. There will be different sections within the Discord according to your ranking, that will get increasingly exclusive according to the tier level.

Each quarter we will take a snapshot of $CRUZ token. Those who keep their same balance will be eligible to receive exclusive airdrops relative to which tier they fall into.

CRUZCTRL NFTs
To participate in the crowdfund, interested parties can collect one (or multiple) of the below defined NFTs.
All ETH contributed to the purchase of the NFTs will return $CRUZ tokens at a rate of 1000 $CRUZ per 1.0 ETH.

All tiers are cumulative, meaning the ANGEL tier receives all benefits from BUFFERING... and beyond.

$CRUZ Community Treasury

The $CRUZ Treasury will consist of Web3 and crypto related sales over time. Portions of revenue from these offerings will be returned to a treasury managed by token holders. This may be in the form of sales from NFTs related to music, event tickets, and other experiences of my lifetime music career. Non-circulated token supply retained by the team will not have any voting weight in managing this community treasury.

$CRUZ Club Break Down

Total Supply: 100,000 $CRUZ

Funding Goal:  20 ETH

Circulating Supply: 20,000 $CRUZ (20% of total supply sold in this crowdfund.)

Use of Funds

Detailed below are estimated use of funds. These amounts and exact figures are likely to change, but any and all expenses will be documented and shared with $CRUZ holders via Discord.

• Photo Shoot - $500
• Cover Art - $200
• Visualizers - $2,500
• Creative Editing - $1,000
• Marketing - $2,500
• PR - $1,750
• Long Form Video + BTS and Micro Content - $4,000
• Mastering & Producer Fees - $15,000

Additional expenses may include but are not limited to curation, contributor compensation and living expenses. I plan to retain ~$20-30k worth of funds within a 6-12 month span to cover my day to day life as a living salary.

Team

80% of $CRUZ tokens will be retained by the core team to find ways to grow the Cruz community, distributing more tokens to new members through experiences enabled by the existing token holder community.

• Kaien Cruz - Me
• Giulianna Pino - Manager | Social Media Curator, Editor, MUA + hairstylist, all things admin
• Matthew Nicholson - Creative Director | Marketing Manger, Videographer, Photographer, Editor
• Braedon Alexander - Co-Manager | Crypto connect, Founder of Next Wave Records
• Jack Spallone - Web3 Advisor | Crypto + Music Pioneer, Head of Crypto at HIFI Labs
• Zach Katz - Head Honcho | Mentor, Advisor, Big Brother
• Max Schrampt- Digital Artist | Graphic Genius | Futuristic designer

Timeline

• Nov. 29th - Crowdfund goes live
• Dec. 2rd - BUFFERING… drops on all DSPs
• Dec. 10th - NFT Catalog Launch
• Dec. 29th - Crowdfund ends
• Jan. 3rd - Designs for Photo Book Release
• Feb. 10th - Shipment of the Merch Box

Special Thanks

This project wouldn’t have been possible without my incredible team & everyone who has pitched in along the way. Truly excited to expand my career into the Web3 space, as I continue to grow & develop as an artist. To the artists who have experimented in engaging their fans through Web3 before me, you have shown me and a generation of artists a new way forward. A BIG thank you to all of the $CRUZ backers & Mirror for creating this amazing platform!

Podium

Top Three Investors (for crowdfund)

• CRUZ CTRL Discord access
• MXD KDZ Instagram access
• Access to unreleased songs & content + BTS
• VIP tickets to three headlining shows & backstage passes
• Exclusive merch box with items only the ANGELS will have
  • NFT Stickers, Signed Vinyl & Photobook
• Lifetime access to headlining shows & festivals

The Highest Investor Out Of The Top Three Investors

• CRUZ CTRL Discord access
• MXD KDZ Instagram access
• Access to unreleased songs & content + BTS
• Lifetime access to headlining shows & festivals + backstage passes & the opportunity to bring a +1
• Exclusive merch box with items only the ANGELS will have
  • NFT Stickers, Signed Vinyl & Photobook
• Private dinner with Kaien Cruz

This is all the information needed for the mint (release) date for the NFTs. Hope y’all are as excited asI am! Let’s change the industry together.