by Michael Andronico
In an age where most teens are more concerned with collecting Twitter followers and Farmville coins than any physical valuables, it’d be easy to look at trading cards as a lost art. However, Green Media president William Green refuses to accept this notion, as the lifelong sports and hip-hop fan decided to combine his passions and launch The Platinum League, a brand-new series of collectible hip-hop trading cards featuring artists from all eras of the game. That’s right: The phrase “I’ll trade you my Weezy for your Dr. Dre” is now a possibility.
The Platinum League cards feature artists ranging from Diggy Simmons to Tupac, and all contain scannable QRL codes that unlock exclusive video content for each rapper. Every pack of 5 cards comes with a bonus “game card,” which rewards fans with a guaranteed prize via QRL code or web link. The prize can be anything from free music to big concert tickets, taking the baseball-card bubblegum idea to all-new heights.
Green had a vision of the major players he wanted in the Platinum League series from the get-go.
“There are certain people you need to get for a project like this to be legit,” said Green. “You need Tupac, Biggie, Snoop, and Scarface. Those guys were representative of the genre and still are.”
“My manager called and said ‘wanna be on a trading card?’ I was like ‘me? okay!’ said Texas rap veteran Scarface with a laugh.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” he continued. “Big respect to Platinum League, they understand. This is going to be forever. I know they’ll be worth big money someday.”
Scarface is among the elite elder statesmen of both the hip-hop genre and the Platinum League, alongside Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and the late Christopher Wallace, known better as the Notorious B.I.G. Violetta Wallace, Biggie’s mother, was contacted by Green in regards to having her son immortalized as a trading card.
“I see a positive way to keep my son’s legacy alive for the people he touched,” said Wallace. “People have his music to remember him by, now they have this.”
Wallace was holding on to a small gold pendant featuring her son’s face, presumably one of the exclusive prizes offered by the League.
“It’s a keepsake,” she said, running the pendant through her fingers. “It feels good. It looks good. Keep it.”
The Platinum League trading cards are available now. Visit the official website to purchase a pack and learn more about the series.
