The signs of hip-hopB次元官网网址檚 influence are everywhere B次元官网网址� from Pharrell Williams becoming to billion-dollar brands like Dr. DreB次元官网网址檚 and retail mainstays like DiddyB次元官网网址檚 Sean John and Jay-ZB次元官网网址檚 Rocawear.

It didnB次元官网网址檛 start out that way.

The music genre germinated 50 years ago as an escape from the poverty and violence of New York CityB次元官网网址檚 most distressed borough, the Bronx, where few wanted to invest in its businesses or its people. Out of that adversity blossomed an authentic style of expression, one that connected with the cityB次元官网网址檚 underserved Black and Latino teens and young adults, and filtered through to graffiti, dance and fashion.

As hip-hop spread throughout New York, so did a culture.

B次元官网网址淗ip-hop goes beyond the music,B次元官网网址� said C. Keith Harrison, a professor and founding director for the University of Central FloridaB次元官网网址檚 Business of Hip-Hop Innovation & Creative Industries certificate program. B次元官网网址淗ip-hop always knew, as Nipsey Hussle would say, how to get it out of the trunk, and so theyB次元官网网址檝e always had to have innovative business models.B次元官网网址�

That spirit of innovation has helped push hip-hop past big businessB次元官网网址� initial resistance to align with the genre to become the most popular music form in the United States since 2017. Hip-hopB次元官网网址檚 impact on the $16 billion music industry and beyond is now so widespread, experts say it becomes difficult to quantify.

Author Zack OB次元官网网址橫alley Greenberg estimates that hip-hopB次元官网网址檚 were worth nearly $4 billion in 2022 by themselves.

Hip-hop artists have achieved that level of success because they are much more than their music. They are tastemakers and trendsetters in lifestyle-defining products from fashion to high-end champagne.

B次元官网网址淗ip-hop knows how to put butts in seats, no matter what context youB次元官网网址檙e in, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what businesses want,B次元官网网址� said Harrison, who is also a professor in the University of Central FloridaB次元官网网址檚 DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program. B次元官网网址淓motion, return on emotion B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 what hip-hop does differently. They have another level of emotion.B次元官网网址�

Because rappers often tell stories fans relate to or aspire to, weaving brand shout-outs into their rhymes and product placements B次元官网网址� sometimes paid for, sometimes not B次元官网网址� into their videos becomes a powerful marketing tool.

In her forthcoming book B次元官网网址淔ashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,B次元官网网址� pop culture expert Sowmya Krishnamurthy addresses what people get out of B次元官网网址減utting somebody elseB次元官网网址檚 name or logo across your chest or across your back.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚n America, in a capitalist society, how else do you show youB次元官网网址檝e made it?B次元官网网址� Krishnamurthy said. B次元官网网址淥ne thing I kind of joke about is: People canB次元官网网址檛 see your mortgage. But they can see a nice chain. They can see the clothes that you have on. That is an immediate signal.B次元官网网址�

In hip-hop, that pressure to fit in and show off is heightened.

B次元官网网址淵ou have a genre that historically has a lot of people who grew up with little to nothing,B次元官网网址� Krishnamurthy said. B次元官网网址淭he aspiration is inherent.B次元官网网址�

And probably no product has been as successful at connecting with hip-hop as footwear. Consequently, rappers get their own sneaker lines without ever taking part in a sport, said Harlan Friedman, host and creator of the Sole Free podcast on sneakers and street culture.

B次元官网网址淎 seventh grader canB次元官网网址檛 afford a $20,000 rope chain and medallion, but maybe he could afford a pair of (Nike) Dunks or a pair of (Air) Jordans or a pair of Adidas,B次元官网网址� Friedman said. B次元官网网址淭hat gives him that little bit of clout, that heB次元官网网址檚 like his favorite artist or athlete, and it kind of gives him that feeling like, B次元官网网址極h, IB次元官网网址檓 like them.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Adidas was the first major company that saw rappers as potential business partners, Friedman said. But they had to be convinced.

Even though the company had seen an unusual spike in sales of its Superstar shoes in the Northeast in 1986, it wasnB次元官网网址檛 ready to attribute that to rap group Run-D.M.C. and their hit B次元官网网址淢y Adidas.B次元官网网址�

When company execs saw the group ask fans to show off their Adidas and thousands removed their shoes and waved them in the air at a Madison Square Garden performance, they were sold. They signed Run-D.M.C. to a $1 million deal that resulted in their own shoe line in 1988.

Now that hip-hop is a multibillion dollar industry with widespread influence, itB次元官网网址檚 easy to forget it wasnB次元官网网址檛 always Courvoisier and Versace for its stars.

Even after AdidasB次元官网网址� success, companies still balked at partnering with hip-hop acts because they felt that B次元官网网址渉aving young Black and brown people wearing their clothing simply wasnB次元官网网址檛 on brand and, in many ways, it was kind of denigrating their brand,B次元官网网址� said Krishnamurthy.

B次元官网网址淏ut when that kind of money is being spent and people really saw the power that rappers had to change what somebody might wear B次元官网网址� they started taking notice,B次元官网网址� she said.

Companies of all sorts now court rappers and their audiences, hoping to join the ranks of Timberland B次元官网网址� which at first resisted associating with the genre it saw as being counter to its working-class base B次元官网网址� Hennessy cognac and anything Gucci as hip-hop approved brands.

Few events in hip-hop cultureB次元官网网址檚 ongoing march into the mainstream can match McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 introduction of Saweetie B次元官网网址檔 Sour sauce for the fast food giantB次元官网网址檚 Chicken McNuggets in 2021.

At the time, the California rapper was far from a household name. But Jennifer Healan, McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 USAB次元官网网址檚 vice president of brand, content, and culture, said Saweetie was a natural fit for the companyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淔amous OrdersB次元官网网址� campaign, which has also featured Travis Scott as well as one of hip-hopB次元官网网址檚 biggest celebrity couples, Cardi B and her husband, Offset, for ValentineB次元官网网址檚 Day.

B次元官网网址淪aweetie is a longtime McDonaldB次元官网网址檚 fan, and she brought a unique twist to our campaign by mixing and matching her favorite menu items B次元官网网址� which tapped into our fansB次元官网网址� passion for food hacks and new flavor combinations,B次元官网网址� Healan said.

The promotion worked well for both McDonaldB次元官网网址檚, which Healan said saw a spike in sales for the Big Mac, and Saweetie, who soon had her own Netflix show and was a musical guest on B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live.B次元官网网址�

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