Two Nike announcements, a new signing for Kanye, and a big year so far for Drake. These are all the headlines you need in the creator, tech & social media news this week:

Art /
Climate protestor smears cake on the Mona Lisa

A man disguised as an old woman in a wheelchair smeared Leonardo Di Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa painting in cake as part of what is believed to have been a climate protest. Fortunately, the 16th Century masterpiece, which is worth $900 million, sits behind bulletproof glass so remains untouched, except it has cream on it.

Web3 /
Nike's RTFKT buys "DotSwoosh" domain for 19.72 ETH

Nike’s Web3 company, RTFKT, has purchased the dotswoosh.eth Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domain for 19.72 ETH – or around $38,000 USD. Although the purpose for the purchase is yet to be revealed, the 19.72 ETH amount could refer to the year 1972, when the iconic Swoosh logo first appeared on Nike footwear.

Music /
Snoop Dogg reveals supergroup album release

Snoop Dogg has announced that the hotly anticipated debut album from Mount Westmore will drop on June 7. The supergroup is made up of California rap legends Snoop, Ice Cube, E-40 and Too $hort and the date was announced via Instagram where Snoop shared the caption, “June 7th. The wait is over. BadMFs” alongside a one-minute teaser video.

Sport /
Donda Sports signs its first-ever active athlete

Aaron Donald, star defensive tackle of the Los Angeles Rams, has been announced as the first-ever active athlete to sign with Kanye’s new agency, Donda Sports. Fresh from his Super Bowl win, Donald said of the signing, “For me, it was a no-brainer.”

Fashion /
Nike Launches new "Re-Creation" program

Re-Creation by Nike will collect vintage and deadstock pieces, using them to “create new locally designed and manufactured products.” that are uniquely restored through manual patchwork, during, stitching, and other techniques. The program follows Nike Grind, Nike Refurbished, and Nike Recycling & Donation on the brand’s journey to a circular economy.

Music /
Drake Is 2022's Most-Streamed Artist So Far

Drake is officially the most streamed artist of the year, outrunning the artists formerly known as Kanye West, Future, and Eminem with a total of 3 billion streams in the USA alone.

Social Media /
TikTok reveals its class of 2022 LGBTQ+ Trailblazers

To mark Pride Month, TikTok is shining the spotlight on some of the top LGBTQ+ creators that use the platform to drive awareness, spread empowerment and encouragement, and drive social change.

NFTs /
Prada Launch 100 Ethereum NFTs

On Thursday 2 June, Prada dropped a limited collection of shirts as part of its Prada Time Capsule NFT project. Designed by Damien Hirst’s son, Cassius, they’re the next in Prada’s series of monthly Time Capsule collections that are available for 24 hours only.

Automotive /
Mercedes-Benz to phase out manual transmission by 2023

Due to shifting customer demand and increased electrification, Mercedes-Benz is  aiming to completely phase out manual transmission offerings by the end of 2023, according to a report from the German publication Automobilwoche. This follows the car giant’s plans to go fully electric by 2030.

Music /
Harry Styles makes global chart history

“As It Was,” the first single from Styles’ new album, Harry’s House, which was the fastest selling album of the year so far. This week, “As It Was” holds the top spot in the US, Canada, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Belgium and puts Harry in line with The Beatles as “the only British acts ever with four concurrent Hot 100 top 10s.”