Branding and Hip Hop

As a young boy I was always fascinated by the stories of inner city life and struggler dictated to me by my favorite hip hop artist. I also enjoyed the entire esthetic package that went along with this imagery. Any product that was mentioned or wore by these artists became desirable to me. Nike, adidas and Reebok were cashing in on the hip hop craze.

What happen next was interesting and obvious in hindsight. Certain artist such as Jay Z, Snoop Dog and Puff Daddy (his name at the time), not only realized that they were being short changed by the larger corporations, but that they themselves were brands. This was a revolutionary concept. They were not only going to sell concert t shirts, but clothing lines that really had nothing to do with their performance. Strictly the image the presented.


This lead the way for artist to sell their image and cool to cash in were large companies had cashed in the past.