Following in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos and William Shatner, rapper DDG now says he'll be the first rapper to visit space and record a music video there. For decades, space travel was something reserved exclusively for astronauts. Unless you were part of NASA, the ESA, or another space organization, there wasn't an easy way for someone to visit outer space for themselves.
But this has rapidly changed over the last year. Companies like Virgin Galatic, SpaceX, and Blue Origin are making space exploration much more accessible with their expansion of the space tourism industry. Instead of having to join NASA and train for years to be an astronaut, you can now buy a ticket from one of these companies, hop on a spacecraft, and travel above the Earth. You need hundreds of thousands of dollars to actually get one of these tickets, but it's a step in the right direction.
This boom in space tourism has seen numerous big names head for the stars. Jeff Bezos went to space, William Shatner did, and Pete Davidson is heading there on March 23. Along with all of them, rapper DDG's now confirmed that he's also going to space. Hailing from Pontiac, MI, DDG rose to fame when he started making YouTube videos in 2015. Between his YouTube channel and label deal with Epic Records, DDG's one of the biggest new names in rap today. Shortly after releasing his song Elon Musk in February, DDG Tweeted that he was "finna start training for space" and that he was "[for real] going to space next month." Now according to a report from Our Generation Music, DDG's trip to space is scheduled for Saturday, March 19.
What's the reason for DDG's space trip? Speaking to Our Generation Music, DDG says, "I’m really going because I want to experience it. I like doing crazy [stuff]. I went scuba diving, skydiving and I wanted to embrace that space mentality with ‘Elon Musk.’ I can’t wait to get up there. I’m not really that nervous. I’m just excited."
And DDG isn't going to space just to take in the views. The rapper says he's using the trip to film part of his music video for Elon Musk. DDG's already filmed some scenes for the video in Atlanta, but some shots will apparently be captured directly from space. Once again speaking to Our Generation Music, DDG explained, "My team contacted SpaceX, NASA and some other companies to see if we can make happen, and it did. I’m going to be up there for a few hours. I’m no astronaut or anything, but I’m going to feel weightless and be floating for the video."
This isn't the first time outer space has been roped into the entertainment world. The other big story has been around Tom Cruise and his eventual plans to film scenes in outer space for an upcoming action movie. It was also recently confirmed that Space Entertainment Enterprise plans to launch a space-bound production studio by December 2024 — opening the door for even more space movies, music videos, etc. DDG will be far from the last big name in space, but even so, it's an exciting leap forward for the future of space travel and entertainment.
Source: Our Generation Music