Kanye West shuns NFTs in favor of making products for the 'real world', but doesn't shut the door on digital collectibles : 'Ask me later'

• Kanye West said in an Instagram post that he's not making NFTs, which have grown into $41 billion market.
• The billionaire rapper says he's making products for use in the "real world".

Billionaire musician and businessman Kanye West is making clear he's not putting any energy into joining the market for non-fungible tokens that last year boomed to a valuation of $41 billion — at least not at the moment.

"My focus is on building real products in the real world," he wrote in a handwritten note posted to his Instagram page. "Real Food Real Clothes Real Shelter."

He made apparent that he's received a number of requests to make NFTs, or digital representations of music, art, and other items that are stored on a blockchain.

"Stop asking me to do NFTs," he typed under the handwritten note. "For now I'm not on that wave," he told his 10.5 million Instagram followers.

The size of the NFT market in 2021 soared to a $41 billion valuation, according to blockchain data company Chainalysis, catching up to sales in the conventional art market that tallied $50 billion in 2020.

The market has been appealing to many artists and celebrities including rapper Snoop Dogg, Def Jam Recordings founder Russell Simmons, Paris Hilton, and NFL star Tom Brady.

West, meanwhile, is busy with his Yeezy line of sneakers for Adidas and his Yeezy line of clothes with retailer Gap. He released his latest album, "Donda," in August.

But West indicated he wasn't completely shutting the door on digital collectibles. "Ask Me Later," he wrote, signing off on his Instagram note with 'Ye," with his name change formally recognized by a judge in Los Angeles in October, according to Deadline.