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Branding and Hip Hop Culture - Product Placement in Music Audio Data

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School of Business and Management A330A0500 Strategic Brand Management Peter Spier

Branding and Hip Hop Culture: Product Placement in Musical Audio Data

Extended Essay Assignment 18th May 2016

Aljoša Jankov 0457355 Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 1

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND BASIC PREMISES ...... 2

2.1 Business concepts ...... 2

2.2 Socio-economic theories ...... 4

2.3 Attributes of Hip Hop Culture ...... 4

3 MACRO ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PHENOMENON ...... 6

4 MICRO ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PHENOMENON ...... 8

4.1 Types of Influences on Brand Images ...... 8

4.1.1 Cases of Positive Influence ...... 8

4.1.2 Cases of Negative Influence ...... 9

4.1.3 Cases of Controversial or hard-to-determine Influence ...... 10

4.2 Detail Analysis of Influence on Ralph Lauren and McDonald’s ...... 12

5 CASES OF CLASHES BETWEEN COMPANIES ...... 14

AND ARTISTS ...... 14

5.1 Personal Branding as the integrated part of Hip Hop: the case of Rick Ross ...... 15

6 CONCLUSION ...... 17

REFERENCES ...... 20

Appendix 1. The evaluation of the influence of Product Placement in Hip Hop audio data on the brand image of Ralph Lauren ...... 25

Appendix 2. The evaluation of the influence of Product Placement in Hip Hop audio data on the brand image of McDonald’s ...... 26

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1 INTRODUCTION

The way how people consume music has been constantly shaped by technological trends. Internet streaming services are gradually replacing the traditional radio broadcast channels, and this change leaves no place for advertisement in between songs for most of the users. (Station Resource Group 2010) If companies aim to continue the promotion via audio data as a tool of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC), they will most likely have to rely on other methods, one of them being the product placement in music. The ‘embedded marketing’ in movies and music videos is a very common subject, however the product placement in music as solely the audio data seem to be a research field that don’t receive enough attention.

Mainstream Hip hop music is known for lyrics that include mentioning brand names in pursuit of status transfer that the artists gain by brand association. While certain brands do hold endorsement contracts with some artists, most of the artists promote various brands for free, which is a very interesting phenomenon. The referred goods are mostly the high-end fashion clothing, and car products, but some wealthy service providers, food chains and luxurious geographical regions also get their advertisement. This figures as a potential leverage material for the companies that operate in a b2c market segment, but hardly for b2b, like the regular product placement.

The purpose of this research is to investigate this phenomenon from the point of view of companies, artists and the consumers, in an attempt to determine effects on each party, in the terms of brand images they hold. The potential connections for developing the feasible business relationships between them will also be examined.

The idolaters of Neo-liberalism believe that the poor population looks up to and follows the ways of wealthy ones. This theory could explain why Hip Hop artists gain such a popularity among people whose purchasing power doesn’t allow them to use the merchandise embedded in the song lyrics. It could also explain why this music induces in the fans wants, or at least awareness of the mentioned products. Since ‘rapping’ as a form of artistic expression is more similar to talking than singing, brand name-dropping within lyrical stories could even be observed as a strong Word of Mouth (WOM) Marketing, and social proof stands as the most credible way of recommendation. When

1 compared to other musical genres, the greatest quantity of words per song and its braggadocio tone in the majority of songs is what makes hip hop unique. Those attributes are also the main reasons why hip hop listeners more than any other need to buy into the personal brand of the artist and his brand story, in order to prefer him among other artists. Since the beginnings in 1980s, the common brand character of a rapper went through a lot of drastic changes, but some elements remained the same till present. According to Spotify’s data analysis of 20 billion streamed tracks in 2015, Hip Hop music is the World’s most listened to genre. (Independent 2015) For better or worse, the brand value trade-off between companies and the artists continues unceasingly, with Hip Hop positioned in the center of Pop Culture, and its influence on youth stronger than ever.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND BASIC PREMISES

This chapter will introduce the reader with some business concepts, socio-economic theories and attributes of hip hop culture, followed by implications on which the research is built upon. Understanding this basis is necessary for the full comprehension of the empirical part of the research. If a company wants to enhance, control or just protect their brand image from the way how it is presented through Hip Hop lyrics, it first must get the idea what Hip Hop Culture represents today, and how does their brand fit into brand stories of the artists who mention it – the Rappers. 2.1 Business concepts Brand represents an image of a company that consumers have in their mind first when they think about the company, its products or anything related. Brand image is created by the company’s design, logo, symbol or any form of communication. Employees, customers themselves and every company’s associate are the agents of brand. Brand also represents something that differentiates the company, gives it credibility, and can be used to help consumers as a shortcut in a purchasing decision-making process. (Businessdictionary 2016)

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Branding can be simply interpreted as efforts made to control the brand image. “The Onion Model” for mapping the brand value suggests that brands are consisted out of layers, resembling the structure of onion. One variation of the model puts brand’s cultural meaning as the surface layer, then its community meaning, and finally the individual meaning for each consumer as a core value. (Millwardbrown 2012) Product Placement or “Embedded Marketing” is an advertising technique that subtly promotes the company’s products, by integrating them in movies, TV shows, or other media. (Businessdictionary 2016) The brand name-dropping in Hip Hop music fits the subtleness requirement from this definition when the brand names are spoken through slang words. However, mentioning the exact brand names without inviting listeners to buy the product also differs from direct selling, even though it’s not so subtle.

Marketing Communication mix is a combination of tools such as advertising, sales, promotion, direct and digital marketing, public relations and personal selling. Each company should find a mix that creates a clear, compelling and consistent brand messages. (Armstrong & Kotler 2015, 396-397) Streaming services usually play ads only to non-premium users, which is why product placement in audio data can become more significant subject. Music influence on the consumer appeals on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral basis, with regards to his attitude and perception and current emotional state. It has been proven that consumers spend more in the retail markets if happy, positive songs are played, especially the ones they already know and like. (Zeeshan & Obaid 2011, 56, 61) Slow-tempo music is also found to make consumers spend more, and stay longer in the store. (Pham 2014, 12) Since the research subject isn’t focused on retail and sales, but rather selling and shaping the brand images, these factors might differ. However, if a song fits the description it will be taken that it has a positive effect on consumer’s perception of the utilized brands, since it creates a receptive atmosphere and is most likely increasing brand awareness. Alignment of overall emotion that the song carries with the mission statement of a brand company will also be taken into consideration. A clear match would mean that the risk of damaging the brand is minimal, other factors aside. In his handbook for salesman, Bellfort describes the Tone of voice as a key factor of persuasion that if used right, can act as a psychological shortcut for bypassing consumers’ “limiting buying beliefs”, which are negative buying experiences from the past and irrational fears that prevent them from 3 purchasing. He states that the tone has to be enthusiastic and authoritative. He also teaches tonality techniques such as finishing sentences with louder words, on a higher note; using whispering in order to imply scarcity and demonstrate a “bottled enthusiasm” over product, and strategic use of pauses in sentences. He points that in an absence of physical presence, tone of voice is 91%, where only 9% comes from words. (Bellfort 2010, 49, 52, 69) Moreover, the most credible book on body language states how only 7% of communication is verbal, 38% vocal (which includes tone of voice) and 55% non- verbal (body language and facial expressions). (A. Pease & B. Pease 2006, 27) By thinking about promoting brands through solely the audio data, some similarities with telemarketing are to be found, hence the presented techniques and distribution of communication were used as guidance for evaluating the influence on brand images. 2.2 Socio-economic theories The insinuation is an act of planting a seed of an idea into somebody’s mind, in a way that affects his subconsciousness and makes him develop the idea as it was his own. It is a very effective technique of manipulation, because consumers are generally resistant to the ideas of others, and prone to realize their own. (Coursehero 2016)

Globalization is the tendency of business to spread outside of the home country, to other markets around the globe, and in that way increase integration of different markets, international trade and cultural exchange. (Investopedia 2016a) Globalization is an enabling factor for occurrence of the research phenomenon, because it drives growth of both the Hip Hop culture, and big name companies. In relation, Capitalism, Materialism and Hedonism are the main values promoted by the rappers. They make a platform for competing in terms of possession and enjoying the most status commodities, and also secure good response from the audience by simply existing in their everyday lives. Promoting spending means indirectly increasing one nation’s GDP. In contradiction, Scarcity principle states that a value of a good grows as its supply decreases, and it is also often integrated into business models based on Hip Hop and the lyrics itself. (Investopedia 2016b) 2.3 Attributes of Hip Hop Culture Hip Hop culture traditionally represents an art form consisted out of 4 core elements: Break Dancing, Rapping, Graffiti writing and DJ-ing. However, lifestyle promoted along 4 with those activities also includes fashion, street language (slang), street knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit. (Thetika 2016) In general, Hip Hop is a synonym for a creative and rebellious getaway for each individual that breeds with the energy of youth. The culture originates from the end of 1970s, but its musical component, refered as “hip hop music” or simply rap, didn’t took off until the 1980s. The 1990s are considered as a “golden era” of Hip Hop by the musical critics and the artists. (Rollingstone 2014) In that decade both culture and music reached a sort of maturity and started entering the pop culture, and engaging more and more Brand names into lyrics. What differentiates hip hop music from other genres is its nature of constant changing and diversity – even different geographical areas are divided by their own styles. Hip Hop doesn’t have a strict sound, but is always evolving. In result, its overall mainstream sound transforms every 3 to 4 years. Instrumentals can be originally composed, or they use samples of other musical genres, such as rock, jazz, rhythm and blues, and even classical music, movie soundtracks, electronic or older pop music. Virtually, every sound can be utilized into a hip hop beat, and this type of flexibility enabled the music to stay fresh and thrive, among other genres. What gives this music identity are the unwritten fundaments of rapping, forming the lyrics, and artists that pay homage to the roots of culture through music. Competitive spirit is also one of the main characteristics of Hip Hop. (HipHopDX 2014) Rappers used to participate in battles, to build a reputation by representing their rapping skills and rhyming out each other, often by mocking the opponent. As the evolution of genre progressed, competing in rhyming was supplemented, if not completely replaced by competing in possessing financial and real assets. This boastful attribute is why Hip Hop is often considered a rude culture, and it’s in contradiction to its knowledge element. Other reasons are excessive use of curse words and promotion of drugs. Hip hop lyrics include specific type of humor, delivered through wittiness of punchlines and wordplays, similar to stand-up comedy. Moreover, lyrics are to a large degree consisted of slang words. A listener can be under the influence that he is hearing an entire different language. Slang words can appear as metaphors by having some logical meaning. For example, the word “Sneakers” is often replaced by “Kicks”. They can also be like sort of a nicknames for the original words, e.g. “McDonald’s” = “Mickey D’s”, “BMW = Beamer”. Hip Hop theorists believe that this trend started because in the early times, a lot of rappers where drug dealers (or at least

5 that is the brand story they want to portray), and were using coded words to disguise the dialogues about criminal activities. Globalization and the expansion of internet played a big role in Hip Hop’s expansion, because they enabled people from all over the world to look up for the meaning of words and understand the language of hip hop in its entirety. The coded language adds another dimension to the listener’s experience, because it engages him in active thinking and in that way respects the knowledge element of the culture. Deciphering slang words from Hip Hop lyrics might trick listeners by insinuating that the encoded meaning represents their wants, especially if a brand name is coded. Deciphering can also be observed through the scarcity principle, because getting the meaning first would give a special value to the listener, especially before the internet era. The feeling itself is often referred as “hidden gem” , and one of the most influential hip hop groups, the Wu-Tang Clan, used it to create the world’s most expensive music album, “Once upon a time in Shaolin”. The album was reportedly created in just one copy, and the artists themselves didn’t hear the completed version. It was packed in a special silver box, placed in a safe somewhere in Marrakech, Morocco, and guarded by one of the group’s affiliates. (Forbes, 2014) It was sold to Martin Shkreli in 2015 for $2,000,000; with a contract that it cannot be shared or publically played until 99 years passes. Since a majority of hip hop artists grew up from poverty, the music became a manifestation and celebration of a success story. Branding theory suggests that brands can appeal to either reality or dreams of the consumers, and Hip Hop blends both approaches through its always manifesting “Rags to Riches” culture story, which is a reflection of the “American dream”. The writer of a critically acclaimed book on hip hop business models, Dan Charnas, thinks that the growth of culture lead to the selection of Barack Obama as a president of US in 2008. (Youtube, 2010)

3 MACRO ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PHENOMENON

Genius.com is the internet’s biggest database of Hip Hop lyrics. It offers a statistical feature, through which it can be examined how frequently a particular word was used in almost the entire known hip hop music, per every year since 1988 till present. (Genius 2016a) As a result, popularity of brands among the hip hop community can be measured 6 by comparing frequency of brand name mentions. E.g. it can be seen how the top 8 designer clothing brands are: Gucci, Versace, Fendi, Prada, Channel, Dior and Louis Vuitton.

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Figure 1. Frequency of high-end fashion clothing brands mentioning in hip hop lyrics (Genius 2016b)

It shows how the popularity of Gucci has peaked in 2008, and how Versace has risen in 2011. But is this a reliable indicator of a brand's popularity outside of the Hip Hop community? By taking a look at the frequency of mentioning fast food restaurants, which are not considered brands that stand for status commodities, it can be seen that McDonald’s are the most popular by far. Its slang term “Mickey D’s” was also entered, even though it promotes McDonalds indirectly, but can cause a greater effect on a listener.

Figure 2. Frequency of fast food restaurant brands mentioning in hip hop lyrics (Genius 2016b) 7

While there is no explanation for the peak in 1992, McDonald’s is one of the rare companies that achieved growth in 2009, during the period of economic recession. They offered cheap, fast food when consumers were pressured with money and time the most. (David 2010, 27, 36) This correlation can either mean that rappers follow trends very carefully, or that they are the ones who create the trends and are very influential. In reality, both statements are true to a certain degree; hence the Hip Hop Music can increase the growth of awareness of a brand name, or call attention to it in the first place.

4 MICRO ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH PHENOMENON

This chapter will analyze how placing brand names or their slang code names into lyrics does affect the brand image that a company is trying to portray.

4.1 Types of Influences on Brand Images

The Mission statement of a company is the closest idea that can be gotten of the brand image that they try to portray. By analyzing the meaning behind the context where the Brand name is input and optionally comparing it with the mission statement, the Influence will be categorized as “positive”, “negative” or “controversial or hard-to- determine”.

4.1.1 Cases of Positive Influence

“However, living better now, Coogi sweater now

Drop top BM's, I'm the man, girlfriend”

– The Notorious B.I.G. – Big Poppa, 1994 (Genius 2016c)

The way how “better” and “sweater” rhyme within the line, with the word “now” at the both ends, makes the phrase “living better” sound as a synonym for “Coogi Sweater”. Coogi is an Australian clothing brand famous for multi-colored sweaters. It transferred a status to Biggie (B.I.G.), but also differentiated his clothing style from other artists. The

8 song “Big Poppa” is one of the greatest hits of the entire Hip Hop music, and B.I.G. made this brand popular among the hip hop community and America in general. He was tragically killed in 1997, and rappers glorify this brand in his honor to this day. Moreover, in the second line, a BMW with a convertible roof was mentioned as “drop top BM”. The extension: “I’m the man, girlfriend” refers to showcasing success – which is in line with BMW’s current mission statement. An overall emotion that the song carries is coolness and the use of slang for BMW adds bonus points for its potential to intrigue. Both of these brand mentions seem to have a strong positive influence on the brand images.

“Riding to the music, this is how we do it all night, all night

Breezing down the freeway just me and my baby, in our ride

Just me and my boss, no worries at all

Listening to the Aston Martin Music”

– Rick Ross ft. Chrisette Michele & Drake – Aston Martin Music, 2010 (Genius 2016d)

This chorus sang by a lady, goes multiple times throughout the song presenting the Aston Martin as a dream of freedom. Rick Ross (“the boss”) represents every masculine quality, where Drake acts as a more feminine, dandy type, and the instrumental carries the emotion of nostalgia. In the music video, Rick Ross is shown as a child who looks up to a rapper from the era of ‘80s who drives an Aston Martin, and grows up to earn his own, against all odds. This song, and especially the video seems like it was designed to appeal to everybody, whether they already have or dream about Aston Martin, regardless of gender. Hence, it’s a strong positive influence.

4.1.2 Cases of Negative Influence

“Vroom, vroom, yeah I know my car sound like a T-Rex

Bi***, I'm 23 years old and I ain't riding in a Prius”

– Big Sean ft. Meek Mill – Burn, 2012 (Genius 2016e)

In this song the artist Big Sean is boasting about how in his young age, he already has an unspecified car with a strong engine, and mocks the brand of Toyota’s Prius, as it is a more economical solution for transportation. The overall emotion of the song is

9 aggression, which translates into strongly negative effects on Prius’ brand image. If a celebrity mocks a product, its followers are more prone to perceive it as unworthy.

“Look dog, I don't run with the poodles

Difference is,

I'm eating in Rome and you eating Ramen Noodles

Ya' boy is corrupt kid”

– Lloyd Banks – I’m So Fly, 2004 (Genius 2016f)

Here the word “Ramen” is pronounced the same as “Roman”, and upon that wordplay the punchline is built. Banks points out his situation of eating in Rome as a more expensive lifestyle than eating Roman (Ramen) Noodles. He might be exaggerating his villain qualities, because he proceeds by proudly stating that he is corrupt, but clearly mocks the wide affordable brand. For large scale products, even this kind of mentioning might increase the awareness, and eventually result in increased sales. However, in terms of effects on brand image, this is certainly a strong negative conscious influence.

“Nike, Nike treat employees just like slaves

Gave LeBron a billi' not to run away (Yo!)”

- Kanye West – Facts, 2016 (Genius 2016g)

The negative influence on brand images in Hip Hop audio data doesn’t go worse than this. Mr. West was a business partner with Nike, and their collaboration, the “Air Yeezy’s” shoes, even resulted in greater sale numbers than “Air Jordan’s”. However, he accused Nike of not paying the royalties he deserved, and signed a deal with their competitor, Adidas. This line is a manifestation of his resentment.

4.1.3 Cases of Controversial or hard-to-determine Influence

“And I got back to my business, back to my bit****

Back to the kitchen, that Pyrex Vision

Pop, I let that white stuff sit in

Get hard, get rock, get to the block and pitchin' “

- The Diplomats – Dipset Anthem, 2003 (Genius 2016h)

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A lot of rappers claim to distribute or that they were distributing crack-cocaine before they were rappers, as a part of their gangster, villain-like brand stories. Pyrex is a brand of kitchen equipment such as pots and pans, which name is mentioned in rap songs so often that it almost became a metaphor for cooking crack. Even a “streetwear” clothing brand based on printing the name “Pyrex” all over merchandise was created. Moreover “Johnson & Johnson”, a name of a company that sells baby powder is a slang term for cocaine powder, where “Gem Star” knife and “Mason” jar represent the remaining part of the most famous equipment for cooking crack-cocaine in the Hip Hop world.

Figure 3. Frequency of kitchen equipement brands and “Johnson and Johnson” mentioning in hip hop lyrics (Genius 2016b)

It can be seen from the graph how the “coke rap” trend was very popular in 2008. The reason why this isn’t classified as a negative influence is that these products are never mocked, but presented as something that is to use with respect, for the wrong purpose. Movies like “Scarface” made the image of a coke lord - villain an icon of pop culture, so the effect can be estimated by comparing with the idea of Al Pacino doing advertisement for these products. Only brand managers of these companies can determine whether this is a positive or negative influence, since all of these products aim for economies of scale, and these references certainly enhance the global awareness of the brands.

“So when I bleep, shawty bleep back, 11

Loui' Vuitton belt, where I'm keepin’ all the heat strapped”

– Jim Jones – We Fly High, 2006 (Genius 2016i)

“Bleeping” is about texting, where “Heat” = Gun. Jones is boasting how he uses the LV belt to stash a weapon. Louis Vuitton mission statement includes promoting both creativity and elegance, hence this this kind of use of their belt has a questionable effect on their brand image, especially because the controversial word is coded.

4.2 Detail Analysis of Influence on Ralph Lauren and McDonald’s

This chapter will attempt to evaluate the overall influence that product placement in Hip Hop audio data has on brand images of Ralph Lauren (a clothing brand) and McDonald’s (a food chain brand). Mostly the conscious influence that meaning of the lyrics has on listeners was previously discussed, but more detail analysis required creating a specific evaluation system that also takes subconscious influence into account. 12 random songs that have a brand name integrated were evaluated per each brand. The following table displays factors that were rated, each according to own rating scale, and then multiplied by weights that indicate amount of their significance, to form a total score.

Factors that influence the brand image Type of factor WEIGHTS (Total sum is 1.) Rating scale

Conscious influence on Brand Image 1-5 (1= strong negative; Influence portrayed by lyrics 2=negative; 3=controversial; (VERBAL communication) 0.15 4=positive; 5= strong positive;) Slang or interest-sparking use of words Mid grounds (Received through 3-5 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes)

verbal, but it can appeal to

around brand name drop subconscious) 0.35 Subconscious influence on the Brand 3-5 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes) Suggestive tone of voice 0.25 Alignment of the emotion with aimed brand 1-5 (1= strong negative; 2=negative; 3=controversial; image (mission statement, music from ads) Image (NON-VERBAL communication) 0.2 4=positive; 5= strong positive;) Figure 4. Evaluation factors for effects of Hip Hop audio data on brand images

Average score out of all 12 song scores was then calculated, where results would indicate that the overall effect on brand image is: strongly negative if 1, negative if 2,

12 controversial or hard-to-determine if 3, positive if 4, and strongly positive if 5. This type of evaluation is known as the Competitive profile matrix in strategic management, adjusted for the case. (David 2010, 82) The factors were determined and the weights distributed according to enlisted theoretical background and premises on musical influence, slang words and insinuation, sales techniques and non-verbal communication. Alignment of the overall emotion that song caries with the brand image was calculated by comparing the overall vibe of the song with companies’ mission statements, then music played at recent fashion shows for Ralph Lauren and ads for McDonald’s. Based on the evalaution (see Appendixes 1 and 2), the following results were gain:

Figure 5. Results of evaluation of the effects of Hip Hop audio data on brand images

As it can be seen, in both cases the overall effects that hip hop songs on brand images have were either positive or controversial (“hard-to-determine”). Positive means that the song makes a promotion for a brand directed in a way that suits the company’s brand management goals, while for controversial is hard to determine how would a listener perceive a brand after hearing the name drop, and does it damage the brand or just adds a different layer to it. This evaluation shows that even lyrics that put brand in a negative light can make the brand be perceived as good when the elements of the songs that appeal to the subconscious are included, especially if the listener isn’t fully focused on the content.

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5 CASES OF CLASHES BETWEEN COMPANIES AND ARTISTS

Run DMC was one of the most significant hip hop groups during the era of ‘80s. One of their biggest hits is a song named “My Adidas”. After witnessing many of fans raising their pairs of Adidas, during the Run DMC concert in 1986, New York, one of Adidas’ employees was inspired to initiate an endorsement contract with the group. Collaboration was successful, setting a stage for a lot of hip hop artists to later become Adidas’ endorsers. (Businessoffashion 2016)

In his autobiographical book, “Decoded”, Carter (a.k.a. Jay Z) talks about how he and his affiliates used to drink Cristal champagne in clubs, in 1996, when every other rapper was buying Moet. It was his way to express sophistication, and he saw it as a metaphor of change he was bringing into Hip Hop. However, years later the managing director of the company, Frederic Rouzaud, was asked what does he think about an affiliation with hip hop artists, by the interviewer from The Economist. He answered: “We can’t forbid people from buying it”, and didn’t seem to appreciate the free promotion. Jay Z released a statement that he will never drink or promote Cristal in any way, nor serve it in his own clubs. He thinks how companies fail to notice that rappers add new entries – layers, to the brands they promote, and that they provide a brand story that appeals to the different segment of the market, the one that is likely to be attracted by something dangerous, subversive, audacious or self-made. (Carter 2011, 113-118)

Gucci Mane is a rapper of large fan base, who achieved the peak of his popularity in 2009. He is known for always shouting his rap name throughout the songs, but also for wearing Gucci merchandise and promoting the brand in that way too. He is infamous for constantly going in and out of jail, but somehow manages to always produce and release new music. It is hard to determine the brand value trade-off between the company and the rapper, but the fact that there is no history of lawsuits issued by the company, might imply that they embraced him as an unofficial brand character. (The Fashion Law 2015)

Migos was a common rap trio from Atlanta, until they released a song named “Versace” in 2013. Much more influential rapper Drake liked the song, and added his own verse for 14 the remix. This co-sign brought the attention to the original song, which become a huge hit. What’s so specific is that the chorus is consisted out of only one word hypnotically repeated, but with different intonations – the word “Versace”. This was perceived as both annoying and extremely catchy. Later on, the video for the song was released, recorded at the “Versace Mansion” in Miami that included a lady who is either the Vice President of Versace – Donatella, or her look-alike. What is certain is that the song was later played during the Versace fashion show, and that it marked Migos as the trendsetters in Hip Hop, making their unique style of rapping a new standard and the Versace clothes a revived trend among Hip Hop artists and fans. (Complex 2013)

In 2015, the rapper Lloyd Banks was asked to explain his process of writing songs during one interview. He explained how he uses Hip Hop magazines, such as “Vibe” and “Source” to pull random brand names out of ad pages to enrich the content and craft rhymes more easily by finding appropriate syllables. He said that he used this method from the very beginning of his career, however, one of his biggest hits is named “Beamer, Benz or Bentley”. This confirms that rappers often promote brands that they don’t necessarily use, but do it for the sake of artistic expression and public expectations. (Karencivil 2015)

5.1 Personal Branding as the integrated part of Hip Hop: the case of Rick Ross

Rick Ross is one of the most conscious hip hop artists in terms of personal branding. He emerged in 2006 as a movie villain character, Miami’s coke lord on the Hip Hop scene. He is bold, sports a beard, and almost never takes off his sunglasses, which makes his face easy to recognize and even draw, like he was a Disney character. He possesses multiple chains with his own symbolic images hanging as medallions.

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Figure. 6 Pictures that reflect the personal branding of Rick Ross

“Got so many shades they thought I had a lazy eye,

Shorty rode me smooth as my Mercedes ride”

– Meek Mill ft. Rick Ross – I’m a Boss (Genius 2016j)

He even jokes about his dedication of wearing sunglasses (“shades”), but the core of his brand is based on mentioning luxury brand names, to a larger degree than most of the rappers. In 2009, he started his own record label named “Maybach Music Group”. To this day, whenever Ross appears as a guest on other artists’ songs, there is a chopped- up female vocal seductively declaring “Maybach Music” before his verse is about to start, as his trademark sound. Even when Mercedes discontinued the production of Maybach in 2011, Ross and his affiliates continued to praise it, stating how the situation only increases the value of the brand name, because of the scarcity principle. (MTV 2012)

However, in 2008 he was exposed for working as a correctional officer before being a rapper, in contradiction to his brand image of a criminal. At first he denied, but later stated that he is proud of that part of his life and continued to promote criminal lifestyle through his body of work. Moreover, his artist name “Rick Ross” is taken from an infamous criminal named “Freeway” Ricky Ross. He even sued the rapper for capitalizing of his name, but lost the court battle. (Stereogum 2014) In earlier ages,

16 artists with a fake story would be disrespected by the Hip Hop audience. Rick Ross is an exhibit how constant display of a strong brand image managed to convince the consumers to accept hip hop as a form of entertainment against its traditional cultural values.

In 2013 he was working as an official endorser for Reebok, until he recorded a guest appearance verse where he said:

That ni*** sold you that re-rock, you ain't even know it

I'd die over these Reeboks, you ain't even know it

Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it

I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it

- Rocko ft. Rick Ross & Future – U.O.E.N.O., 2013 (Genius 2016k)

“Molly” is a slang term for ecstasy, and in this song he is talking how he put an ecstasy pill into a certain lady’s drink without her knowledge, in order to enjoy with her later. He was accused of promoting rape and released an apology via twitter, which didn’t seem sincere to Reebok’s management. Reebok dropped the endorsement deal because Ross reportedly didn’t understand the seriousness of the issue. (CNN 2013) Later on he publicly apologized to Reebok and to all the women, stating how the lyric doesn’t reflect his true heart. Rick Ross had even more disrespectful lyrics towards women earlier in his career, and Reebok was well aware of his brand before the partnership. This can imply the problem was is either the line being too close to the brand mention, or that Feminist movement had a great influence. Ross has been seen wearing Reebok shoes unceasingly afterwards, and stated that he will do so, regardless of the failed partnership. There is a suspicion that he is still under endorsement contract. (Spin 2014) His career and achievements reflect the research phenomenon in a nutshell.

6 CONCLUSION

The quantitative part of this research was based on the statistical analysis of the entire known database of hip hop lyrics, and evaluation of their influence on the integrated brands mentioned, through a special evaluation system built for the purpose. The qualitative part presented numerous cases where the companies clashed with the 17 artists, which resulted in either collaboration or mutual disdain. By combining the results, it can be concluded that the companies generally reach out to artists only in cases of extreme positive or negative influence on their brand images, and otherwise don’t mind the existence of unofficial promoters. Also that rappers to a large degree enhance their own brand image and lyrical content by imputing brand names, and how they are very hard to control, since most of them seems to always act and speak their mind. However, the money and capitalism are being praised the most by the Hip Hop artists, so the companies can sure afford some kind of control and cooperation if they strive to protect their brand.

The way how the phenomenon affects the brand image of embedded products depends greatly on the line of business, and the base of consumers that the brand is built upon. Brand managing implies long-term thinking, where direct sales are more of a short-term dimension. Branding should increase profits and secure profitability for the coming ages, where sales are bringing the profit directly. Lyrics that might hurt some brands would work in favor of others and vice versa. Hence, the large scale products like “Ramen Noodles” are likely to benefit out of negative light shed, where “Cristal” might be hurt in the long run just by being praised.

Brand names and trends in hip hop songs have become a so common appearance that the effect on consumers has been greatly watered down compared to the time when “My Adidas” emerged in the 1980s. Regardless, the consumers can be affected in 3 ways:

1. Subconsciously, by hearing the brand name mentions combined with the emotion that instrumental of the song carries, appealing intonation and wordplays. It can result in intuitive change of the attitude towards brands which names are heard or memorized in relation to a song. 2. Consciously, by listening to with focus to the lyrics, taking opinions and influence of the artists for granted. It can result in conscious favoring of the merchandise that is promoted and trending. 3. Hybrid influence, starting as a conscious pursuit of the meaning of lyrics and slang terms via the internet, which leads to looking up the mentioned products. It can insinuate want and trick listeners into perceiving brands as their

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achievements, since they put in effort to encode their meaning. It also might result in internet orders very quickly.

Unless a trend that is mocking a brand emerges through music, there is no great risk that the brand image will be damaged. However, it’s very hard to predict what will become a trend, especially in Hip Hop. If a company decides to take control over music as a tool of marketing communication, it should:

1. Figure out what kind of brand story they want to portray and find a way to promote it through lyrics. Or find a new layer of their brand that is already promoted through lyrics, and adjust it in a direct cooperation with the artists. 2. Try to artificially create a trend that includes their product in cooperation with the artists, and promote it through their music, especially if their target consumers follow the mainstream system of values. 3. Think of some code name for their brand or products, to propose to rappers to use it in order to work as insinuators – especially if the target consumers enjoy in collectible and rare items.

The limitations of this study make the fact that is impossible to evaluate art objectively, and that effect of music on emotions depends on current emotions and attitudes of each listener. All the practiced ideas and evaluations in the research came from one person. If it was implemented by a team of people, especially the one diversified in musical tastes and fields of expertise, and if the evaluation system was created by the experts in psychology, the results could be more objective. Scientific research on the purchasing behavior after the exposure of consumers to the selected music would also be a good idea for further research. Still, the achieved results could be identified as realistic by comparison to real cases presented.

Since Hip Hop today represents a much larger portion of overall Pop culture, with bigger influence and credibility, the further integration with companies behind big brand names s is likely to happen in the future. It’s up to companies and artists to find a way to work together.

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Appendix 1. The evaluation of the influence of Product Placement in Hip Hop audio data on the brand image of Ralph Lauren WEIGHTS: TOTAL AVERAGE per each factor: Bi*** my sucked d***, I'm Ralph Lauren" 12. foreign I'm "I think Based God, everything and Lacoste, Scott"Lyle I'm far from a I'm Ralph Laurenposer. sporting, 11. smart"It's look 3 but and morning the I in still guns and Gold plated grenades" 10. and "Ralph Laurensuedes leathers word" a nigga Ralph Laurenspending, keep always that 9.I'm living "You life that the know is lo 8. Ralph Lauren"you know two "I fucks if don't give My say Ralph Lauren" Polo 7. "That mean my car got horses, pajamas say" 6. Ralph Lauren "Polo bi***, that's what my on snoring world The Gone whole years, a few 5. "1990's Ralph Lauren Polo on him; 4. as "Ralph Label Lauren I'mHigh" Blue getting Lauren (Polo!)" Ralph buying 3. "I'm class you still to first Spain, Atari" Ralph Lauren, game kick like label Purple 2. ni***you aren't, fly "Everything soaring on Royalty thatAmerican Ralph Lauren" yolo going we where 1.know don’t she Porsche, the "Shotgun in to inviting people take part in our dream." providing quality products, creating worlds and Mission statement:American "Redefining style, Evaluated Brand: Ralph Lauren Lil B Lil I'm - Think Based God - London City Devlin - LastOnyx Dayz Ft. Rob Markman & DZA Smoke - Rowland Wiz Khalifa - 96Chip bars Revenge of Durk Lil - B*****s & Bottles Gates Wayne - Bill Lil Nas - No Introduction Beam Rick Dreams Ross Nas ft. - Triple - Tip Raff Toe Wing my in Jawwdinz Riff Up 50 Lamar Kendrick ft. Cent - We &Kidd Kidd Gambino up - One Childish Name of the artist and the song (1-5) portrayedInfluence by lyrics communication) Image (VERBAL onConscious Brandinfluence 0.15 2.5 1 4 3 2 1 3 3 4 3 1 3 2 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes) words around brand name drop Slang or interest-sparking use of subconscious) verbal, but it can appeal to Mid grounds through (Received 3.416666667 0.35 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 5 4 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes) Suggestive tone of voice 4.333333333 0.25 4 5 3 5 4 4 5 4 3 5 5 5 Subconscious on the influence Brand Image (NON-VERBAL communication) Overall emotion (vibe) Overall that emotion (vibe) song carries => "Bottled" Agression, Dreamscape Agression, "Bottled" Motivation, DreamscapeMotivation, Motivation, Aggression Motivation, Quiet Celebration Quiet Dreamscape Indifference Aggression Aggression Aggression Confusion Confusion Nostalgia Mystery from fashion shows) 1-5 statement,(mission music with aimed brand image Alignment of the emotion 3.166666667 0.2 4 5 3 5 2 2 4 3 2 3 3 2 Total Average Score: Total Score: 3.2875 2.85 3.55 3.05 4.05 3.35 3.9 3.6 2.6 2.9 3.6 3 3 Taken as: 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 58.33 % = controversial 41.67% = positive in percentageInfluence

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Appendix 2. The evaluation of the influence of Product Placement in Hip Hop audio data on the brand image of McDonald’s WEIGHTS: TOTAL AVERAGE per each factor: I'm M,Minaj, big uh'uh not a Mickey D" t? 12. a little "Yo you cross why boy, rude like me and cheese" fish to alittle nice treat myself occasionally And 11. that "Off BQE near Mickey D's My hammers" BK them ni**as, man, I feed 10. at that "I'm Mickey D'sstill Atlantic of off on yay" the heavy going Dirk Diggler I'm like Mickey D'sday you eating 9. every "I'm like Hercules" like Young ni**a, I'm flexin' 8. "You mad cause at you workin' Mickey D's I amknow She a I am beast, so obese" 7. "I Mickey want DsMsmister and cheese, out Cohibas ashin’ Milano, way in the All McDonald’s divas feeding Cheeba, 6. "Smokin’ McDonald's" You couldn't orders atmake a drive-through to how 5.dollars make knew "You never at job at McDonald's"factory, Night the daytime 4. "You work hard, you don't you don't beg, borrow me.." McDonald'sover all Blood with at up Makenaked wake it, I of sure got all round bottom it 3. andthe and "Lick swirl my finger condoms commas" and I I got got plenty plenty McDonald's took that Benihana's, b****2. "The bitch like to that McDonalds" up on Broadway, there Right brought backme to 1. to "I copmy used hola Dominicanos Harlem, in world.." Arches – a symbol that’s trusted around the customers have come to from expect the Golden and quality, cleanliness service, value our in yourpresence community; and the to delivering to people work; to abeing strong, positive dedicated to We’re abeing great place for our customers’ favorite place and way to eat drink.& Mission statement: “Our" mission is to be our Evaluated Brand: McDonalds (remix) ladies Minaj - Single Nicki ft. Beyonce (remix) Chevy Honda, - Nissan, Jones Jim Ortiz ft. Joell G Jesus About Unit Talked - They The High & Mighty - Dumb Migos - Shabba (Remix) Migos Emperor Busta ft. Ranks Rhymes, & Young ThugHating Birdman ft. - Constantly The Game Arms - Heaven's Nas - Youunderstand wouldn't You - American Yelawolf - 3Eminem AM - War Keef Chief mind of state - Empire Keys Jay Z Alicia ft. Name of the artist and the song (1-5) portrayedInfluence by lyrics communication) Image (VERBAL on Conscious Brandinfluence 0.15 3 4 4 3 2 4 4 2 3 1 2 3 2.916666667 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes) words around brand name drop Slang or interest-sparking use of subconscious) verbal, but it can appeal to Mid grounds through (Received 0.35 5 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 4 3 3 4.083333333 (3 =no / 4=kind of / 5=yes) tone Suggestive of voice 0.25 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 Subconscious influence Subconsciouson the Brandinfluence Image (NON-VERBAL communication) 3.583333333 Overall emotion (vibe) that Overall emotion (vibe) song carries => Cartoonish Cartoonish Dreamscape Cartoonish Aggression Cartoonish Aggression Cartoonish Cartoonish, mystery Cartoonish, mystery Cartoonish, Quiet Celebration Quiet Smooth Smooth Criminal Happy Nostalgia Cartoonish Cartoonish Confusion Harmony Mystery from ads) 1-5 statement,(mission music with aimed brand image Alignment of the emotion 0.2 5 3 2 3 4 5 3 4 5 3 3 4 3.666666667 Total average Score: Total Score: 3.125 4.45 3.95 4.35 3.25 3.25 3.15 3.05 3.5 3.8 3.6 2.9 2.7 Taken as: 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 50%=controversial 50% = positive in percentageInfluence

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