Branding In Hip-Hop

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. 

Kanye West - Last Call

Killin y’all niggaz on that lyrical shit/ mayonnaise colored benz I push Miracle Whips

With a rhyme that caught the attention of Damon Dash and eventually led to a record deal with Roc-A-Fella records (explained in the last few minutes of the song), Kanye West lets it known to the world that he is more than just a producer.  Always typecasted as they guy who can just do beats, Kanye pushed all the boundaries possible to let it be known that he also has potential to be a successful rapper. Essentially, he is killing competitors with his flow and lyrics and also styling in his Mercedes Benz.  What makes his benz stand out is that it is mayonnaise colored.  Only those with the swagger of Ye can get to drive this whip, so essentially he is driving a “Miracle Whip.”

I personally love puns with brand names.  The two meanings involved usually provide witty and hilarious lines.  So the next time you see a mayonnaise colored vehicle, think Miracle Whip.  Ketchup red…think Heinz.  Steak sauce brown…think A1.  And so on and so on.  

Fabolous - Everything, Everyday, Everywhere

And I hope you don’t think we give a sugar, honey, iced tea/ Or a middle finger up/ I just stay sucker-free/ Leave the lames where they be/ And I let my chips pringle up (That means “stacked”)

Fabolous is not worried about the lames that try to hold him back from success.  Fabolous is mostly concerned with increasing his net worth.  He doesn’t give a damn, or in his own words, a sugar sweet fuck about what the suckers around him think.  Nor does he give a middle finger up.  His audacious reaction to these suckers makes sense, considering this behavior only lets his chips continue to stack.  In other words, chips mean money (like poker chips) and Fabolous’s focused attitude only lets his cash flow continue and income continue to grow. 

I wonder who thought of the idea to have potato chips come in a cylinder can.  It is quite a creative concept that avoids the obvious packaging in bag.  This helps consumers feel better buying chips that not broken or stale.  Makes sense why Fab wants his money to be just as clean and fresh.  Keep the income coming.  

Hopsin “Trampoline”

I used to be the nigga chicks didn’t wanna hang with/ Sitting alone with a capri sun and raisins/ My senior year in high-school I was always truant/ Had a lot of homework but I would never do it, screw it

Hopsin reflects on his past and remembers those days when he wasn’t the most favorable person in high school.  The torment the underachiever faced was from all over.  He was essentially the little guy that girls didn’t pay attention to, sitting alone in the cafeteria drinking his small Capri Sun and eating raisins.  This all led to him feeling school is not worth the effort, causing him to skip not do any homework.  

Capri Suns are quite the delight for any kid during lunch (I remember I was fascinated by the cool looking pouch it came in).  Maybe in Hopsin’s case, this and the raisins were the only thing that were sweet in his childhood.  

Jay-Z “Guns & Roses”

And you too can cool out poolside at the Delano/ And you too flow like you was out of your mind yo/ And who knew dude who loved apple pies from McDonald’s/ Would soon be the boss of the Big Apple? Yeah I know 

Jay-Z is inspiring his listeners to think big.  Jay-Z is the epitome of success.  He can sit poolside at the Delano Hotel, living it up in Miami.  He is able to do this because of his “out of your mind” flow, or his brash delivery of lyrics that makes him stand out in hip-hop.  Jay-Z is telling the listener that he or she can also achieve this lifestyle and earn big.  As long as the person realizes that everyone can achieve the same kind of success Jay-Z earned if they just think big.  After all, Jay-Z was just an ordinary guy starting out, eating and loving apple pies from McDonalds.  Not sure if the 2 for $1 apple pie deal always existed, but I’m sure the affordability of the pies is enough to suffice anyone trying to make it.  The same guy who loved those apple pies is now one of the greatest rappers from New York City.  Jay-Z’s love of apples became something a lot more than he envisioned (or maybe he knew it all along, evidenced by the last three words in the lyrics).  

Apple pies from McDonalds are something that everyone can enjoy (unless they prefer Burger King).  The point of this product in the lyric is to further emphasize that even ordinary people with simple tastes can make it big in life.  

Jadakiss “24 Hours To Live”

If I had 24 hours to kick the bucket? Fuck it/ I’d probably eat some fried chicken and drink a nantucket/ then go get a job from Branson/ and make sure I leave my mother the money to take care of grandson

Jadakiss hypothetically describes what he would do if he had 24 hours left on Earth.  Most people would probably want to do things they never were able, or were too afraid to do.  Skydive, drink expensive liquor, tell someone you love them?  Who knows.  Jadakiss, however, has a more humble approach to this fate.  He would not care as much about it and just do things that he normally would.  That includes eat fried chicken and drink Nantucket Nectar beverages.  Nantuckets are pretty cheap drinks found on many corner and convenience stores (also packed with a lot of refined sugar).  For Jadakiss this is enough.  It shows that he will do what satisfies him, which is eat and drink something he probably has always been interested in.  His main priorities are getting a jar of weed from Branson (a man who is widely credited for starting the wine and liquor craze in hip-hop culture and supposed marijuana connection for Biggie Smalls), and also making sure his son is going to be taken care of by his mother.  

Nantuckets are beverages that are easily affordable and quenches many thirsts.  For Jadakiss, this is enough and a reminder that, even with only a day left, it is ok to continue to do the same things that made you happy in life.  

Notorious B.I.G. “Big Poppa”

Pull the truck up front, and roll up the next blunt/ So we can steam on the way to the telly, go fill my belly/ A T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch’s grape/ Conversate for a few, cause in a few, we gon’ do/ What we came to do, ain’t that right boo? (true)

After seducing and convincing her to accompany him to a hotel room (telly), Big describes the activities that he plans to do with the woman he just met at a club.  After getting in his truck, they will roll up and smoke marijuana as they head to a nearby hotel.  From there Big will satiate himself with a meal consisting of a T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch’s grape jelly.  Afterwards (not making it clear whether the female ate in this meal or just watched), Biggie will engage in a few words with the woman.  Once the conversation concludes, they will engage in sexual relations because that is honestly what both individuals were planning when coming to the hotel room.  Before this plan though, Biggie eats a hearty meal with Welch’s grape jelly.  Always a sweet condiment, it shows that Biggie Smalls enjoys popular brands of food.  If it tastes good, it’s always better to request it along with your meal.  

Steak and eggs with Welch’s grape is a wonderful breakfast and substantial enough for the larger than life Biggie Smalls, especially after a night of clubbing and before sexual escapades.  

RIP Biggie Smalls

Kanye West “Gone”

Groupies say I’m too choosy/ Take ‘em to the show and talk all through the movies/ Says she want diamonds, I took her to Ruby Tuesdays/ If we up in Friday’s, I still have it my way

Kanye West explains the life of an entertainer.  He is constantly surrounded by groupies that want to try their luck with a celebrity and hopefully acquire all the desires they wish.  However, Kanye is very choosy in the type of women he wants.  If the woman can exceed Kanye’s high expectations, they can expect to be chosen and be allowed to accompany him.  However, Kanye still notices the woman’s behaviors, including talking throughout movies and requesting diamonds.  Kanye obliges to her request of diamonds by taking her to Ruby Tuesdays.  Not necessarily the same “jewelry” the groupie was requesting.  This pun helps Kanye’s lyrics by further emphasizing the idea that he, while still being nice to the groupie by taking her to a pretty good restaurant, is too choosy.  Not just anyone will get the diamonds.  It is Kanye’s decision.  It is his way.  Whether they are at TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, or the show.  

Nonetheless, congrats to Ruby Tuesdays for being selected by the very choosy Kanye.  

Ice Cube “I Ain’t The 1”

And after the date, I’ma want to do the wild thing/ You want lobster huh? I’m thinking Burger King/ And when I take you, you get frustrated/ You can’t juice Ice Cube and you hate it

Ice Cube, always hilarious and vulgar, makes it clear that he is not the one.  He is not the one to be taken advantage of by a gold-digging female.  Hell, if we are talking about Ice Cube at the time of this recording (1987, when he was with the controversial N.W.A.), he is probably making it clear that he is not the one for any female.  In these lyrics, he explains his awareness of a female trying to juice (or take advantage of) Ice Cube’s wealth.  Cube is clearly after one goal, and that is for the woman to do wild things and provide sexual relations.  There is absolutely no lobster involved.  Luckily for the hungry woman, he can provide Burger King.  Always the cheaper alternative for anybody, Burger King can satiate the woman and hopefully be enough for her.  Or, if Ice Cube is correct, it will only make her more angry and frustrated.  But by purchasing Burger King, Cube ironically makes it clear that she can’t “have it her way.”

Word of advice ladies… if you go on a date with Ice Cube, DO NOT try to juice him.