The signs of hip-hop91裸聊视频檚 influence are everywhere 91裸聊视频� from Pharrell Williams becoming to billion-dollar brands like Dr. Dre91裸聊视频檚 and retail mainstays like Diddy91裸聊视频檚 Sean John and Jay-Z91裸聊视频檚 Rocawear.
It didn91裸聊视频檛 start out that way.
The music genre germinated 50 years ago as an escape from the poverty and violence of New York City91裸聊视频檚 most distressed borough, the Bronx, where few wanted to invest in its businesses or its people. Out of that adversity blossomed an authentic style of expression, one that connected with the city91裸聊视频檚 underserved Black and Latino teens and young adults, and filtered through to graffiti, dance and fashion.
As hip-hop spread throughout New York, so did a culture.
91裸聊视频淗ip-hop goes beyond the music,91裸聊视频� said C. Keith Harrison, a professor and founding director for the University of Central Florida91裸聊视频檚 Business of Hip-Hop Innovation & Creative Industries certificate program. 91裸聊视频淗ip-hop always knew, as Nipsey Hussle would say, how to get it out of the trunk, and so they91裸聊视频檝e always had to have innovative business models.91裸聊视频�
That spirit of innovation has helped push hip-hop past big business91裸聊视频� initial resistance to align with the genre to become the most popular music form in the United States since 2017. Hip-hop91裸聊视频檚 impact on the $16 billion music industry and beyond is now so widespread, experts say it becomes difficult to quantify.
Author Zack O91裸聊视频橫alley Greenberg estimates that hip-hop91裸聊视频檚 were worth nearly $4 billion in 2022 by themselves.
Hip-hop artists have achieved that level of success because they are much more than their music. They are tastemakers and trendsetters in lifestyle-defining products from fashion to high-end champagne.
91裸聊视频淗ip-hop knows how to put butts in seats, no matter what context you91裸聊视频檙e in, and that91裸聊视频檚 what businesses want,91裸聊视频� said Harrison, who is also a professor in the University of Central Florida91裸聊视频檚 DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program. 91裸聊视频淓motion, return on emotion 91裸聊视频� that91裸聊视频檚 what hip-hop does differently. They have another level of emotion.91裸聊视频�
Because rappers often tell stories fans relate to or aspire to, weaving brand shout-outs into their rhymes and product placements 91裸聊视频� sometimes paid for, sometimes not 91裸聊视频� into their videos becomes a powerful marketing tool.
In her forthcoming book 91裸聊视频淔ashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,91裸聊视频� pop culture expert Sowmya Krishnamurthy addresses what people get out of 91裸聊视频減utting somebody else91裸聊视频檚 name or logo across your chest or across your back.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚n America, in a capitalist society, how else do you show you91裸聊视频檝e made it?91裸聊视频� Krishnamurthy said. 91裸聊视频淥ne thing I kind of joke about is: People can91裸聊视频檛 see your mortgage. But they can see a nice chain. They can see the clothes that you have on. That is an immediate signal.91裸聊视频�
In hip-hop, that pressure to fit in and show off is heightened.
91裸聊视频淵ou have a genre that historically has a lot of people who grew up with little to nothing,91裸聊视频� Krishnamurthy said. 91裸聊视频淭he aspiration is inherent.91裸聊视频�
And probably no product has been as successful at connecting with hip-hop as footwear. Consequently, rappers get their own sneaker lines without ever taking part in a sport, said Harlan Friedman, host and creator of the Sole Free podcast on sneakers and street culture.
91裸聊视频淎 seventh grader can91裸聊视频檛 afford a $20,000 rope chain and medallion, but maybe he could afford a pair of (Nike) Dunks or a pair of (Air) Jordans or a pair of Adidas,91裸聊视频� Friedman said. 91裸聊视频淭hat gives him that little bit of clout, that he91裸聊视频檚 like his favorite artist or athlete, and it kind of gives him that feeling like, 91裸聊视频極h, I91裸聊视频檓 like them.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
Adidas was the first major company that saw rappers as potential business partners, Friedman said. But they had to be convinced.
Even though the company had seen an unusual spike in sales of its Superstar shoes in the Northeast in 1986, it wasn91裸聊视频檛 ready to attribute that to rap group Run-D.M.C. and their hit 91裸聊视频淢y Adidas.91裸聊视频�
When company execs saw the group ask fans to show off their Adidas and thousands removed their shoes and waved them in the air at a Madison Square Garden performance, they were sold. They signed Run-D.M.C. to a $1 million deal that resulted in their own shoe line in 1988.
Now that hip-hop is a multibillion dollar industry with widespread influence, it91裸聊视频檚 easy to forget it wasn91裸聊视频檛 always Courvoisier and Versace for its stars.
Even after Adidas91裸聊视频� success, companies still balked at partnering with hip-hop acts because they felt that 91裸聊视频渉aving young Black and brown people wearing their clothing simply wasn91裸聊视频檛 on brand and, in many ways, it was kind of denigrating their brand,91裸聊视频� said Krishnamurthy.
91裸聊视频淏ut when that kind of money is being spent and people really saw the power that rappers had to change what somebody might wear 91裸聊视频� they started taking notice,91裸聊视频� she said.
Companies of all sorts now court rappers and their audiences, hoping to join the ranks of Timberland 91裸聊视频� which at first resisted associating with the genre it saw as being counter to its working-class base 91裸聊视频� Hennessy cognac and anything Gucci as hip-hop approved brands.
Few events in hip-hop culture91裸聊视频檚 ongoing march into the mainstream can match McDonald91裸聊视频檚 introduction of Saweetie 91裸聊视频檔 Sour sauce for the fast food giant91裸聊视频檚 Chicken McNuggets in 2021.
At the time, the California rapper was far from a household name. But Jennifer Healan, McDonald91裸聊视频檚 USA91裸聊视频檚 vice president of brand, content, and culture, said Saweetie was a natural fit for the company91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淔amous Orders91裸聊视频� campaign, which has also featured Travis Scott as well as one of hip-hop91裸聊视频檚 biggest celebrity couples, Cardi B and her husband, Offset, for Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day.
91裸聊视频淪aweetie is a longtime McDonald91裸聊视频檚 fan, and she brought a unique twist to our campaign by mixing and matching her favorite menu items 91裸聊视频� which tapped into our fans91裸聊视频� passion for food hacks and new flavor combinations,91裸聊视频� Healan said.
The promotion worked well for both McDonald91裸聊视频檚, which Healan said saw a spike in sales for the Big Mac, and Saweetie, who soon had her own Netflix show and was a musical guest on 91裸聊视频淪aturday Night Live.91裸聊视频�
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