With Sunday’s upcoming Super Bowl, you’re guaranteed to see at least one Hip Hop artist in a commercial. Lipton confirmed Eminem will appear in a “Brisk” ad for their signature iced tea. In the last two months, emcees Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli and Jay Electronica have all come under fire for lending their rhyme skills to beverage companies. But what’s all the fuss about? The mere act of selling an album puts any musician—Hip Hop or otherwise—in a different category.
“The truth is that music and videos are commercials,” says Nelson George, who has served as co-executive producer of VH1’s “Hip Hop Honors.” George has also written the movies CB4, Life Support and the book Hip Hop America. “[Songs and videos] are commercials for artists that say, ‘Buy me. Buy what I’m doing. Buy my lifestyle.’ So it’s hard to, on one hand constantly put out commercials, which is what these guys do, and then act like the commercials have no impact if the parents are doing their job. That’s bullshit, because parents try and stop kids from eating at McDonald’s. Parents try and stop kids from doing a lot of shit. But, when they’re inundated with it through commercials, music and media it’s hard to battle that. So you have these parents who suddenly are in a war against 50 Cent’s music videos or 50 Cent’s records. 50 Cent’s everywhere—you’ve got water, commercials, a clothing line—so it’s not that easy to tell your kid to tune that out.”
When a product is commoditized, the artist has to make concessions. Songs may have to be shortened; occasionally profane lyrics are changed or censored. At the most basic level, a sample may have to be changed. So if the artist is selling something one way or another, does a fan have the right to be upset because they’re selling a physical product instead of an ideal? According to rapper Pigeon John, who recently licensed his song, “The Bomb” to Volkswagen, it depends on what the ideal and the product are.
“When you speak out on things, it can come back at you,” John told HipHopDX. “Because you might end up promoting the things you’re speaking out against. But I tend to steer away from that—it doesn’t naturally come out of me that way. It’s just been a kind of cool, upbeat thing that happened.”
In the case of Kweli and Pigeon John, can any listener who has followed these two artist’s careers say they couldn’t see them respectively driving a VW or drinking Pepsi? Hell, Kweli’s wedding was partially sponsored by Cognac maker Hennessey. And I can write, in all seriousness, that few things compliment Hennessey the way a cola—be it Coke, Pepsi, or the generic stuff—does.
When these charges of “selling out” are leveled, no one mentions the obvious double standard. When 50 Cent buys a stake in Vitamin Water, it’s considered a shrewd business move. The same praise is given to Dr. Dre for his Dr. Pepper ad, which presumably both paid him and salvaged his leaked T.I. collaboration “Shit Popped Off.” And yet, when an artist like Kweli wants to get some side money endorsing a product that he might actually use, people want to call him a sellout as if he’s committed some great crime against Hip Hop. But the reality is, from Drake to 50 Cent and Dr. Dre on down to Kweli and Pigeon John, nobody is selling as many albums as they used to.
In 2010, total album sales were down 12.8 percent. And a quick look at the RIAA’s database reveals Talib Kweli has one certified gold-selling album. One. When I mentioned the VW ad to Pigeon John, he joked that he hadn’t seen it because he just recently got cable. So without getting into the intricacies of mechanical royalty splits, let’s just say that both mainstream and underground artists are all fighting for a smaller piece of the same pie. Personally, I’d much rather see Kweli get an endorsement on the side as opposed to holding up those feminine ass, pink Nuvo bottles in his videos. And the same argument can be made for Jay Electronica. This is a man who was allegedly homeless. And when “Exhibit C” 
dropped, Just Blaze had to personally ask various bloggers to take down the mp3 of the song, because all of the bleeding-heart sympathizers who claimed Jay Electronica was such a breath of fresh air weren’t putting their money where their mouths were by legally purchasing the single.
On a personal note, in the grand scheme of things, an emcee rhyming about drinking soda to get a check isn’t a big deal. Have you seen what’s going on in Egypt? Who gives a fuck what Jay Electronica is drinking. Do you know how much worse things rappers have lied about? Does anybody remember Boss? She was the supposedly “gangster” female emcee from Detroit, who actually turned out to be a middle-class former cheerleader. Would you say that lying about drinking Mountain Dew is any worse than being a former correctional officer who raps about moving kilograms of cocaine?
Hip Hop purists and even some casual fans complain when subpar rappers are placed in commercials. And the seemingly corny inclusion of a dookie gold rope and Dobbs brim hat on Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble while rapping their best Run DMC impression doesn’t seem funny if you actually like the real Run DMC. But on the other hand, there are tons of statistics to show that many of the same people who are quick to type “sellout” in a web comment aren’t actually out there buying albums.
“The climate of labels and licensing has changed now that records aren’t selling,” John added. “I think the fans and music listeners understand that tours and licensing are keeping the artists afloat. It’s what keeps us making music.”
The issue is compounded by the fact that there are people within the world of Hip Hop who hold prominent positions at the Fortune 500 companies who commission artists for commercial endorsements. Clark Kent is a consultant for Nike. So if you start connecting the dots, it makes sense that after Kent produced Rick Ross’ “Super High,” Ross eventually ended up in a Nike commercial. But Ross likes Nike. He’s been pictured wearing all kinds of Air Jordan’s years before “Super High” was recorded. So where exactly do you draw the line of calling an artist a sellout? Prior to the inclusion of Ross, Nike commissioned The Neptunes, Rakim, Nas and KRS-One for similar spots. KRS was a pioneer of sorts, by reinterpreting Gil Scott Heron’s 1970 classic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” for a Nike ad.
“Today we can laugh at it, and I actually laughed about it then,” KRS said of his Nike advertisement. “I wrote a scathing reply to Sheena Lester at XXL; she tried to diss me for doing that Nike commercial and the Sprite commercial as well. There’s a saying that goes, ‘If it was funny now, it was funny then.’ So you’ve got to take these things with a grain of salt, as they say. But I am ‘The Teacha!’ What else do I expect? I am a self-proclaimed educator of the Hip Hop arts and sciences. If you’re really a philosopher seeking truth—you’ve got some theories and you’re doing your thing—your own community is gonna be the first to diss you. You should want that shit! This is what builds the love at the same time.”
So end the end who are we to call any artist a sellout for supplementing their income? By purchasing an album, a listener is part of the process of commoditizing music. At that point, any notion of “being underground” or “keeping it real” is just an illusion. It’s all capitalism at work. It’s a bit of a catch-22 because many of us also aren’t purchasing the albums artists use a primary source of their income. The final solution may be as easy as taking some decades-old advice from Eddie Murphy—who’s no stranger to the celebrity endorsement himself.
“Have a Coke (or in this case a Mountain Dew) and a smile, and shut the fuck up.”
Omar Burgess is a Long Beach, California native by way of Flint, Michigan. In addition to contributing to various magazines and newspapers, he is an editor at HipHopDX.com.
Great article. Sell as many Cokes as you want. I can’t afford to dish out $15 everytime i want someone’s album. There’s way too many albums out these days. And, if i really like your album, i’ll buy a ticket to your show.
about .99 cent for da damn song, sheesh
…that Sprite commercial used to be the shit tho.
i know one thing rick ross is gettin that paper he is movin albums and doin alot of other things i bet he moves up in forbes list this year
Damn good article!
The ones that worked for me was Buckshot and Prince Paul’s Ecko ads back in day, and L-R-G’s campaigns, and Triple 5 Soul.
Never drank Sprite, or St. Ides.
Nice jazz hands in dat Rick Ross picture.
u shouldnt have to pay for music. You gotta pay for all the stuff that comes with the music. The shirts, the concert tickets, the posters. You shouldnt have to pay for something that just enters your ear.
You sound retarded. You go to work for free and tell us how it works out. MUST be living with your parents.
you right, we shouldn’t be paying for food either, that’s just shit that enters our mouths. and movies? that’s just shit that enters our eyes.
LMAO!! great response
don’t really concern me cuz most contemporary artists are fake and in it for the money anyways.
what might irk me might be seeing wu-tang promotin christmas hams or dmx in am anti-violence campaign; like they had t.i doin when he was on probation, but no one noticed that. the same dude that just got busted for trying buy machine guns is going to talk to the kids about non-violence. huh?!?1
Today’s rappers are not concerned about being called a sellout. Most are only in it for the money anyhow. It is expected for them to be more business savvy.
why waste your(and my) time writing this article if at the end that is your final prognosis
The main point being if these artists are gonna run to the same system they rap against to make money who in the end is gonna listen to what they have to say…
Only CHILDREN call an artist a sellout for doing a commercial.
“Moral victories are for minor leagues coaches, we major you cockroaches” Jay Z.
well said.
only snakes think it’s ok to sell they’re own people out, and you just quoted one.
who gives a fuck? reading this article was a waste of my fucking time…as long as the music is good who GIVES A FLYING FUCK stop reading into shit so much for fucks sake..are you guys going to condemn Christian Bale because HES NOT REALLY BATMAN?
people who want more from their music then just a foot-taping beat should care about where their music comes from and how the people who made it inteand it to be used. It can change an entire song…unless your too dumb to give a fuck
am i the only one who didn’t get the batman analogy or even thinks that it’s a bad one?
THAT BOY ROSS IS MAKING MOVES!!!
BOOM!!!!
THAT BOY ROSS IS MAKING MOVES!!! Boom!!!
hop off his cock faggot.
I’m not even going to read this corporate BS. I don’t care what the reason is you make your own instead of looking for a pimp on the street.
I am amazed to see this article- only because I was watching some KRS videos earlier today on YouTube, came across the old Sprite Commercial and posted it onto my Facebook because it actually made me want a Sprite. If you’re not sacrificing you’re beliefs and culture for the product- its not selling out in my eyes.
@ofwgkta
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this was a good read, but I have some objections about doing business and the old ways some people have imprinted in their genes of doing it. everyone wants to sell records to the same old people (the americans and the western europeans, maybe Japan) but motherfuckers should look at the statistics of all business ventures and see that they make money from going into to the emerging markets, not the old over-saturated markets that’s tired of them because they’re used to their products for so long. same shit goes with music too… but I have no iTunes store in Romania and I can’t buy the albums I like without paying 2 times more for them (in case I actually find them), even though, my wage is shit compared to that of an american. so, the motherfucking music companies and artists should first help themselves before going at the throats of leakers or “pirates” because without those “pirates” 2/3 of the world wouldn’t know shit about them.
Itunes store is on the internet.
You’re welcome.
First of 95% of the “overground” rappers are fakes. They only rap to get money, they don’t really have nothing to say, it’s egocentric, superficial, manufactured bullshit. So them doing commercials, is just an extention of that.
The whole article is basically based on the argument that it’s all about making money.
That is of course ridiculous, if we talk about HipHop.
HipHop is an artform, it is not a fuckin’ game or job! HipHop is about being political, standing up for your community, fighting the power, the discrimination in society etc.
It’s not about bling bling, gangsta shit or making money.
So doing commercials makes you lose your integrity as a HipHop artist, simple as that. If your motivated my money, fame etc. your making rap, and that’s cool, but your not making HipHop music.
If you can’t afford to keep it real, then get a 9-5 motherfucker! If you want to be or remain a HipHop artist that is!
Don’t get me wrong I love gangsta rap, party and bullshit rap too, but let’s not get it confused with HipHop, it’s NOT the same thing.
On another note 95% of all articles on this page, is about Rap, not HipHop/HipHop-Rap. So this site should actually in all fairness be called RapDX.
shut up idiot, u rap to make money and change your lifestyle.. yes u r right 95% of rappers aint what they say! but u have someone like 50 cent who was a big time drug dealer and in snd out of jail then he had a kid n needed another way to get money and rap is how he done that!! and yes it is a art but the art side of it is just as important as the money
you shut the fuck up. 50 cent is one of the biggest studio gangsta’s out. along with rick ross. he wasn’t no big time drug dealer. dudes a fake
-Anonymous
You make me laugh you ignorant little kid. Obviously you didn’t understand what I wrote, and you don’t understand the difference between Rap and HipHop. But hey don’t feel bad, most people don’t.
50 can rap to make money all he want, more luck to him! But then he’s not making HipHop. And that’s a fuckin’ fact 🙂
“someone like 50 cent who was a big time drug dealer”
HAAHAAHAAHAAAHAAA
“On another note 95% of all articles on this page, is about Rap, not HipHop/HipHop-Rap. So this site should actually in all fairness be called RapDX.”
Agreed. But you know them preppy kids Here at so-calledhiphopdx.com don’t care, to them it’s all “monkey music”…
At least it’s expected from white folks, Over at ALL socalled hiphop.com its the same thing, only two cooning watermelon eating frat faggots running that shit. All these mainstream so called hip hop sites are the same, 2battyboyz, worldstar, forbez, all the same bullshit, I think we should come up with our own network, fuck them faggots, let’s teach these kids what Hip Hop is really all about, Look at the world around us. they need fathers man, shit is getting serious, the powers that be are really trying to drive the black family apart. All the while suckas is gettin paid to make us look like a bunch of baffoons. This is serious. Enough for me to start pistol whipping any motha fucka making a mockery of my culture. dope observation though homie…
stay up
RNS
“shut up idiot, u rap to make money and change your lifestyle.. yes u r right 95% of rappers aint what they say! but u have someone like 50 cent who was a big time drug dealer and in snd out of jail then he had a kid n needed another way to get money and rap is how he done that!! and yes it is a art but the art side of it is just as important as the money”
If I ever encounter soomeone talking reckless like this, best believe they WILL GET PISTOLWHIPPED. Faggot nigga.
The borrom line is all u hating ass niggas should go practice safe sex and fuck ur self….This rappers gotta eat. Im sure ur fav so called REAL NIGGA RAPPER is still in the hood and will end up dead or in jail while this so called SELL OUT rappers are living in multi million $ houses. this world is all about making money.Im sure if u made it into the rap game and people call u real then nike comes to u and offeres u 1milli $ to do just a 30 second add will u say no? Thats y i luv 50 cent, people hate on him saying he sold out and his fake, but at the end of the day 50 still got over 200-300milli $ in the bank so he dose not give a fuck what u niggas say. dont u think is better to b a studio gangsta and make millions of $ from it than to b a real gangsta and get killed or go to jail!!!!!!
I was trying to tell people about “Boss” the female rapper. Nicki Minaj is the fakest rapper since her.
dude i agree. all these girls clog up my facebook feed with stupid nikki minaj lyrics and videos and i tell them you know this bitch sucks right? and then they freak out dude. bitches.
If they want an good female rapper tell them to look up jean grae
any ever remember the NAS AZ sprite commercial? what about the st. ides commercials that biggie did or tupac and snoop did, hell eveb wu-tang did one. here is some links. If they ain’t hiphop artists then tell me who is! Even krs one is in sprite commercial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTPA9gTkfK8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLLS8XWQYI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLLS8XWQYI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLLS8XWQYI&feature=related
movies & music are still related their both entertainment. people kill me with that keeping it real bs do you keep it real at work or when u got that interview serious ppl its entertainment stephen king got ppl under his stairs to rite
IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD ME BACK…IM PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER WON…WELCOME TO MY TERRORDOME
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u/23/CHf8lFuMEgY
THAT BOY ROSS IS MAKING MAJOR MOVES!!! Boom!!!
THAT BOY ROSS NEEDS TO RECOUP DEFJAM’S MONEY THAT THEY SPENT ON MARKETING AND PROMOTION FOR HIS ASS CUZ GUESS WHAT THOSE GOLD ALBUMS WONT DO IT.
This African kid killed the track
T-Pain Ft. Thuggy Fresh – Motivated
HOW U GONE LET HIM DO THAT???
T-Pain Ft. Thuggy Fresh – Motivated
DOING IT IN THE MOTHERLAND
http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/en/play/s/df47cef-184143/
Yall need to go harder
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I like the article. It is true in some aspects, but what I think is missed is the where and why the term sellout was used back in the day. I think back in the day it was used so that we keep possesion of the art form. It obviously has failed since it is now owned by the big wigs. To me the term carries no weight unless you are just obviously cooning. I don’t care if Talib does a commercial as long as it doesn’t take away from his inegrity as an artist. If he does a Orange Juice commercial the shit is going to sound better than most shit out right now. He keeps it “real”. He keeps his music real. If Kweli did a commercial and he had on a dookie rope and saying some wack ass rhymes. Then I would be like damn Kweli sold out. The Hip Hop scheme of things has changed as the music industry has changed and if you want to live as an artist you have to tap into other avenues. The music alone will not sustain you. Just don’t allow the hunger of the money change who you are. If it does, I will personally call you a sell out.
It is a good thing when artists are making money and endorsing products. However, it would be even greater if they could buy shares in the companies they promote. CAPITALIST NIGGAZ all the way!!
its good when rappers capitalise on their opportunities to make more $$, chek out dis dude i been hearin bout..think he gona b on Shady
http://www.myspace.com/cflotentative
THAT BOY ROSS IS MAKING MAJOR MOVES!!!! Boom!!!
IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD ME BACK…IM PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER WON…WELCOME TO MY TERRORDOME
http://www.youtube.com/user/305ilovemia#p/u/23/CHf8lFuMEgY
at 12.5 seconds my nigga James Magee is in the video with rick ross and nike going BOOM! look him up on fb
LOL @ people who illegally download music from these artists crying like babies about rappers “Selling Out”
Here’s a thought, maybe if rappers could still make a halfway decent living selling their music, A Guy like Talib Kweli wouldnt have to endorse corprate products, but that aint reality, cause I dont care how many of you clowns post up and say “Oh, I always support the artists I like”, Doesnt change the reality that a vast majority of people dont……If you take any random 10 people off the road and say to them “Here’s my cd, you can either pay me $10 bucks for it or have it for free”, at least 9 of them are gonna take it for free, its human nature, so how are these artists suppose to make a living??……. By doing other shit, you think Jay Electonica cares what you think of his Mountain Dew commercial, that guy has kids, has been rapping for years and doesnt even have a fuckin CD Out, Internet respect dont by Diapers for his baby
exactly say no more
Well said.
I feel sorry for your mama!
Hip Hop is not a job stupid little boy!
No must rappers don’t care about respect, they care about money, that’s why they don’t get respect from any people worth being respected by.
a friend who was hit by a drunk driver and is now in a coma. Before I say anything else I do ask that you pray for her recovery.
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I just ask that you take a look, and press like for me. I made it an honest interview so I’m sure that you will like it.
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I feel sorry for your mama!
Hip Hop is not a job stupid little boy!
No must rappers don’t care about respect, they care about money, that’s why they don’t get respect from any people worth being respected by.
Who cares! Really! It’s business not personal. Hiphop used to be something positive, productive, and progressive, OH! I can’t forget honest. Hiphop used to be Honest. Now, as we all are aware of, due to technology and lack of morale,hiphop has demoted itself to RAP, business and lies. So, how can one complain when their favourite artist does a commercial? They need to make money. Are you buying their album(s)? It’s time we stop claiming ownership of things, because that clouds our judgement. How can you personalize something (which is an innate human trait) that belongs to MILLIONS of people? We need to be more open to everything; ideals, choices, lifestyles, then and only then will we be able to come up with a solution. Like mindedness is the key. When everyone or MOST people can finally perceive and agree on how/what to change about HipHop and Life in general, to make it better, then things will change.
The Abyss the True and Living GOD.
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No lie, that KRS Sprite commercial is Dope.. bring that shit back. Lol.
On another note.. the problem here isn’t the commercialization of a genre of music or it’s artist, it’s the blurring of the line between reality and artistry. RAPPERS ARE ENTERTAINERS.. actors, writers, composers, producers and you suckas are the sheep that buy into their bullshit.
Take hip hop for what it is at face value, just music. Don’t read into shit because you’ll be disappointed with what you find.