Beyond Urban Branding

One of the many songs where Nas mentions Hennessy. His shout outs to the brand go back to songs like Memory Lane which dropped on Illmatic on April 19th 1994. The connection between Hennessy and Hip-Hop is so old its hard to say what rap record shouted it out first (I will look into that). But since it did, man, nobody ever looked back. I feel deeply conlficted because on one hand alcohol abuse is so rapant in urban communities. On the other it is impressive to see somone like Nas, who truly started from the bottom get the attention of brands like Hennessy and see them acknowledge his role in the growth of their brand. Keep in mind, many MANY brands have gotten huge jumps in brand awareness, positioning, penetration, retention etc. from rappers loving their products they they NEVER batted an eye. I know this sounds silly, but, I'm happy for both of them.

Nas and AZ Represent for Nike!! People forgot this one. The coolest thing about is the beat they use is from a CLASSIC Hip-Hop movie. Who can name it? NOT YOU!! LOL  I totally forgot this was even made...Still love it

I don't remember the year this ad came out (I think it was about 5-6 years ago). What I do remember, is how angry I was. Basically, its a commercial that Heinekin did about the birth of scratching. Scratching is when a DJ moves the record back and forth on the turntable to create various pitches and tones. Its probably one of the most revolutionary evolutions in the history of modern music. In any case, in the above ad, Heinekin mocked the history of its creation and angered a lot of people within the sub-culture of Hip-Hop. Looking back, I can see how some people may say "Well, aren't you guys being a little too sensitive"? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. This was a widely played ad. Many people who saw it, were mainstream American folks. Many of whom, don't like or play, or care about rap music, DJ'ing and things of that nature. Many people in the Hip-Hop community saw it as a MISSED opportunity to share the true history of Hip-Hop and still make a good ad...