Music and advertising have always gone hand in hand. Makes of cars, motorbikes and clothing have appeared in songs for over fifty years, with musicians not afraid of mentioning the brands that they prefer. Hip hop and rap music in particular features a lot of brand mentions with expensive champagne, luxury watches and designer clothing being among the favourites.
It is unclear whether any actual money is changing hands, but the brands involved are certainly likely to benefit from their association with artists such as Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg , 50 Cent and Kanye West.
The lines between musician/artist and entrepreneur are becoming increasingly blurred and with the sale of his Beats brand, Dr. Dre has recently become hop hop’s first billionaire. So are artists compromising their integrity as they chase more and more dollars, or is this just part of the game that we have to accept?
The interesting infographic above by VF.com highlights the number of times that Jay-Z has mentioned certain brands in his music since 1996. As you can see, the trend is pretty constant and it doesn’t seem to be gaining momentum as time goes on. Mercedes Benz appear to benefit the most from Jay-Z’s lyrical musings, although Cristal champagne and Lexus do pretty well too. Other brands that he seems to be rather keen on include Gucci, Bentley and Nike as well as the ever present ( in rap music) Rolex.
You will definitely need a good few million dollars in your account if you want to go out any buy all of these things but if you want an insight into what huge megastars like Jay-Z spend their money on then check out the graphic. If you can’t afford the Mercedes Benz, you can always pop to the sports store for a pair of Nike trainers.
