Like Minds 2010

Hip-hop artist Legrand goes from real-life to virtual reality, from Philly to Tokyo.


In Spring 2010, 20 students on the Japan Campus of Temple University are working with independent hip hop artist Legrand from Philadelphia to design and launch his online presence in the virtual world of Second-Life.

From the graphic design of Legrand's 3D avatar to his branding, promotion and set up of audio technology: everything is done by students.

This is a unprecedented experiment in digital marketing. While active musicians increasingly emerge from Second-Life to attempt a real-life career, this is the first time an accomplished recording artist is ported to virtual reality in the aim to gain new audience.

We don't mean this to stay unique. We strongly believe in the power of student-run projects to quickly develop tech-savvy, crowd-wise initiatives like this one, in a way that's well suited to the needs of independent DIY artists: cheap, quick and playful.