A very interesting site entitled American Brandstand 2003 presents some startling statistics. They tracked all the mentions of brands in the Billboard Top 20 singles chart in order "to demonstrate to our clients that pop culture relevance is a key dynamic in modern brand strategy".
The results are staggering. There were 82 different brands mentioned in the Billboard Top 20 in 2003 and of the 111 songs in the Billboard Top 20, 43 had brands in the lyrics. 43 out of 111 songs mentioned brand names in their lyrics. I still can't believe it. The genres of Hip Hop and R&B are to blame. 42 of the 43 songs mentioning brand names belong to these genres. Dropping names like Mercedez Benz, Lexus, Gucci and Cadillac is commonplace.
I never did understand the entire "bling bling" thing that has taken over the Hip Hop community, and this is proof it's become nearly impossible to differentiate between tunage and advertisements. 50 Cent on his own dropped the names of 31 brands in his Billboard hits of 2003. It's all about status. It's the car you drive, the shoes you wear and the name on the tag of your shirt that matters. Bling bling has all but ruined Hip Hop for me. Hip Hop has become way too commercialized.
Before you chalk this up to another middle-class white male who doesn't get the message, please be advised that I own a great deal of Hip Hop. My brothers will vouch for the fact I spent a great part of my teenage years listening to Public Enemy. I'll recite you a Public Enemy song from their first four albums on demand if you like. I was a huge Hip Hop fan and I still listen to Public Enemy, Ice-T, Ice Cube, NWA and the Beastie Boys on a regular basis.
Here's how Hip Hop lost me. It used to be about politically charged messages. Public Enemy was thought provoking hard core rhymes over hard core drum beats. Chuck D had a message, and music was his medium to deliver these words. They were the prophets of rage. Today, Hip Hop is the new pop. It's all about moving units and other than the odd exception (Outkast for example), there is no message beyond getting laid, stoned and the latest pair of Air Jordan's. I miss Hip Hop when it meant something. I miss the good ol' days when PE was in full effect. Today, it's all about Nelly and his pair of Air Force One's.
