KUALA LUMPUR: Muar-born hip-hop singer and actor Namewee has become an overnight millionaire, thanks to his controversial new single Fragile which was sold for RM4 million as a non-fungible token (NFT).
Taiwan News reported today that the song, a collaboration between Namewee or Wee Meng Chee and Australian singer Kimberley Chen, earned him NT$27 million (RM4 million) within three hours of its launch.
Following the release of Fragile on Oct 16, China banned the Weibo acounts of Wee and Chen, and removed the song which it deemed insulting to Chinese leaders and nationals.
Nevertheless, Fragile has remained popular with music fans in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia, and has been played more than 10 million times a week since its release.
In a recent Facebook post, Wee, 38, said that he had released 99 NFTs of Fragile on the social media site OpenSea and these units were sold out in three hours.
"Wow! I am so overwhelmed at becoming a millionaire overnight," said Wee.
Fragile was banned as it poked fun at Chinese President Xi Jinping by likening him to Walt Disney cartoon teddy bear Winnie The Pooh, and touched on sensitive topics such as the spread of Covid-19, censorship and alleged human rights violations against the Uighur minority.