Branding In Hip-Hop
I have created this blog as a way to show the relationship between branding and hip-hop. Branding is more than just a name and logo. A brand has a culture and a background. They symbolize an idea. Rappers, using heavy metaphors, use brands as a way to creatively express their ideas and overall messages.
I've been obsessed with hip-hop since I was 6. Figured I would create something related to it while utilizing my media/advertising background. So enjoy the product placement!
*I do not own any of these images
Talib Kweli - It Only Gets Better
“Keep laboring like you got a baby due/ You won’t taste no fruits like Naked Juice/ No more wait for you, you gotta take it now”
There are a lot of people that hate their jobs and only do it for the paycheck. It reaches a point where you are working so hard for something that isn’t even your calling. Essentially, the fruits of your labor will either be terrible or non-existent. Keep “laboring” for something you don’t believe in, and you won’t taste no “fruits” like Naked Juice. Although fruits are blended in different Naked Juice flavors, you still won’t taste the actual fruit. In order to do that, you need to make moves and go for what you deserve!
Juicy J - On Deck
A ni**a with a Oscar, what can I do next/ I’ve been thinking Bugatti.. I can cut the check
Juicy J won an Oscar with Three 6 Mafia back in 06’. Right now, he’s one of the top artists thanks to his affiliation with the Taylor Gang with Wiz. He’s so trippy and so dope that he can now afford a Bugatti. He’s made it.
Yeah… Not much analysis needed here. Whatever. Prepping for this concert tonight!
Kanye West - Flight School
Shit, these last years been a haze like Isaac/ So I close my eyes tighter than Asian eyes get/ Realized I got the same wings angels fly with/ With Louie Vutton feathers, now that some fly shit
It’s obvious that Kanye has made a huge impact in the rap world. He went from the backpacker to the Louis Vuitton Don. Makes complete sense that he sees himself as a blessed angel. Only his wings are not feathers and wax like Icarus. This guy got LV wings.
So does that make Louis Vuitton the Daedalus of rap?
So say the word and I’m near, if it’s somewhere not near/ I guess I’ll be in the air, or the next thing smoking, hoping it was a Lear/ so I can get there quick enough to get you in the clear
Loyalty, trust and true friendship will go a long way. If you are on Joell Ortiz’s good side, you will be sure to have a confidant that will help you no matter what. All you have to do is say the word and Joell will be there, no matter the distance. In fact, he will be so committed to being there, he will even try and hope for a Lear(jet), a luxury jet that will get him to your destination in no time.
Gotta give credit to Joell. While most would use a luxury jet to attend/hold important business meetings or parties, he will use a Lear to help you with any problems you have. And that right there is true loyalty.
Trinidad James - All Gold Everything
This one for them colleges, Them bad h**s at Spelman/ Shout out to them freshmen, on Instagram straight flexin’
According to demographics, Instagram is the top choice for African-Americans aged 18-29 years old. Spelman is an HBCU with college students within that age bracket. So it makes sense that Trinidad James is shouting out the h**es women at Spelman that are flexing their brains and beauty on Instagram.
Trinidad James would be great in the media industry. He knows who he is targeting.
Wooo!
Kendrick Lamar - Fu*kin Problems
Girl..I’m Kendrick Lamar/ AKA Benz is to me just a car
To most people in the world, a Mercedes Benz is a big deal and something to brag about for days. For Kendrick, who had one hell of a year in 2012 and continues to dominate in 2013, a Benz is nothing more than a typical car. He’s got the status and the funds for it. It’s not a big a deal anymore. It’s not a fu*kin problem.
Kanye West - All of The Lights
Restraining order, Can’t see my daughter/ Her mother, brother, grandmother, hate me in that order/ Public visitation, We met at Borders/ Told her she take me back, I’ll be more supportive
Kanye is human. He has made mistakes (which the media loves). All he wants to do is make up and be a better person. So in this anecdote (which may or may not be true), he convinces a woman that he cannot legally see to meet him in Borders, a (past) bookstore franchise. There, he tells her that he will be more supportive and that he wants to be taken back.
Borders may not exist anymore, but gotta love the fact that it provided a center for make ups like this.
First I take the time out, Then I put the time in/ Money aint everything, it’s more about the timing/ So I got the Audemar, Flawless diamond/ In other words that’s called perfect timing
Audemar watch is a luxury brand. Using it as a metaphor, Fabis showing that he is very time saavy and uses time wisely. Success is how well you use your time, so might as well celebrate the glory by getting an Audemar with the flawless diamond. Perfect watch, right Loso?
VVS boulders, oh they’re visibly set/ Head and shoulders, my invisible neck/ You see Hova wasn’t digital yet/ Before Steve Jobs made the iPod/ Was gettin’ head jobs, we call that “intimate”
VVS means “very, very slightly.” It is ranked really high in the diamond clarity scale. Jay’s head and shoulders were covered with these diamonds way before the fame. Even before Steve Jobs struck it big with the iPod and Jay-Z’s catalog became digital (like the majority of the musicians that are on major labels). Jay-Z is demonstrating that he has always maintained the status of a big shot and had women giving him “head jobs” because of his status. And, always one to provide clever word play, Jay-Z calls it “intimate”, pronouncing it in the song to rhyme with internet. This is his way to tie it in to his previous reference to one of the greatest digital music players released.
Kanye West - Touch The Sky
Before anybody wanted K-West beats/ Me and my girl split the buffet at KFC
I don’t think KFC allows this. Nor do any buffets out there. Either way, being a musician is tough. Do what you can to make it, even if it means having a romantic evening with someone at the local KFC, splitting a buffet meal. Save your money on more important things, like clothes with logos.
