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
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?
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!
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.
So sick of niggas. “I want money like Cosby!” Who wouldn’t?/ This’ the kinda talk that make me think you probably ain’t got no puddin’/ Niggas got them kinda dreams from jail/ You in the streets nigga make your moves, get your mill’
Bill Cosby was one of the highest paid entertainers in the nineties thanks to his highly popular “Cosby Show” and famous endorsement of Jello Pudding. It’s no surprise people wanted money like him. But to Jay-Z, this kind of dream is annoying and useless. Not only does it show you don’t have the “pudding” like Cosby, but it also shows that you aren’t doing anything to get to your dream. Stop talking about it and make your moves. Only then can you sit back and relax like Cosby.
I used to stand on rooftops, with 2 Glocks/ Figuring, how do I turn my Timbalands to Crocs?
No no. Nas ain’t talking about these. He is talking about Crocodile shoes that usually equates to success and style. Nas spent his earlier days in good old Queens, where he would wear his work boots by Timbaland and be involved with criminal activities. Nas was smart enough to realize that this wasn’t the future he wanted. So he uses symbolism, like he is usually does, to show what he doesn’t want (a gritty life where he is wearing Timbaland boots on rooftops) and what he envisions for himself (wearing Crocodile shoes and living the lavish life).
It was love at the profile pic/ We was Facebook flirting, never even met her in person/ But it seem like we was soulmates on the phone late/ She my one and only, be there when I be lonely
The beauty of social media. No longer do you have to meet women or men to court them. As long as you have a computer and a Facebook profile, you can do all the introductions and flirting from your desk/bed/couch/etc. Then, once you know that she/he is down to hang, you can then go the extra step and become soulmates on the telephone. 21st century dating at its finest!
Meek Mill and Big Sean - Burn
Cause we next and we flex like/ 90PX, working all night no breaks or a recess
If you are going to do P90X, expect to “flex” and do extensive work in a short amount of time with no breaks in the middle. It is a straight workout that is pretty effective if you are consistent with it. In Big Sean and Meek Mill’s case, they are the rap game’s P90X, where they are consistently flexing with no breaks or rest. So if you want to succeed, be sure you follow the same regimen as Big Sean, Meek Mill, and Pam.
They want me to sing, like Sinatra, I told the detective/ Get this clear like Belvedere vodka/ Them five shots created a monster
The Game was shot five times around the time before his first album came out. when he was in the hospital, cops were questioning him about the shooting and what happened. Game, always loyal to the street code of “no snitching”, doesn’t give the cops anything. Rather, he tells them about the effect the 5 shots had on him. He also tells them to get it clear like Belvedere vodka when it comes to the 5 “shots.” Nice pun Game. You made it loud and “clear” there.
