The endorsement game has become a huge source of additional revenue for a bevy of Hip Hop artists in recent years. Snoop Dogg kicked down the doors with appearances in ads for giant brands such as Tostitos, Corona and Dunkin’ Donuts, while Ice-T has popped up in commercials for GEICO, CarShield, Tide and, most recently, Cheerios. Meanwhile, Fat Joe just landed a deal with White Castle, which said a lot about how far Hip Hop has come.
“There was a time when brands didn’t want to associate with Hip Hop culture, so it will always be important and we’ve come a long way,” Fat Joe said in a recent interview with HipHopDX. “Hip Hop sets the trend today, so the brands and the endorsements are gravitating to our culture. It’s beautiful to watch, especially in the food industry when you’re seeing myself, Jack Harlow [KFC], Megan Thee Stallion [Popeye’s] and other rappers team up with different chains.”
Now, it’s Big Boi’s turn. On Monday (January 10), the Outkast legend shared a Twitter clip announcing his new endorsement deal with Realtor.com. The caption read simply, “Big On Big! @realtordotcom.”
With Big Boi’s 2003 single “I Like The Way You Move” playing in the background, the 30-second clip finds the ATLien lurking in a couple’s new home they’ve dubbed their “first Big Boi house.” As the camera pans to different areas of the house, Big Boi shouts, “Big Boi kitchen, Big Boi waterfall shower, you got Big Boi vaulted ceilings, Big Boi crawl space, Big Boi school districts, Big Boi hidden closet, Big Boi DIY, Big Boi sold sign, Big Boi logo …” you get the picture.
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The new Realtor.com ad marks Big Boi’s foray into the advertising world, unlike Snoop Dogg who’s probably shooting commercials in his sleep at this point. In February 2020, the D-O-Double-G appeared in numerous ads in a single Sunday night — from General Insurance and Tostitos with Martha Stewart to Dunkin’ Donuts.
How Fat Joe's Post-Verzuz Hype + Instagram Live Show Led To White Castle Deal
Ice-T, on the other hand, was worried his “Cop Killer” reputation would kill any chances of getting into the lucrative business. Speaking to DX in July 2021, he noted Snoop Dogg really showed him it could be done.
“It was difficult because I’m the cop killer,” he said at the time. “Everybody in the mainstream was like, ‘They won’t fuck with you because you’re too taboo.’ And I was like, ‘Right.’ And then Snoop started knocking down walls. That’s my brother. So Snoop was going through doors and I’m like, ‘Look, Snoop’s making it through these doors, let’s try.’
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“So the first big one I got was the GEICO commercial with the lemonade. The advertising world was watching and there was no blowback. From there, I did RXBARs, CarShield. You see, people don’t understand but if you look at Shaq, like the one he does for The General, that could be eight to $10 million a year. The numbers aren’t bullshit. You know that bitch Flo from Progressive? Trust me, she lives in a mansion. Flo is caked out.”
