The Fight Against Commercialism in Hip Hop

Many believe that commercialism in the music industry is justified, while others think that it sacrifices art just for the sake of profit. Artist’s careers are majorly impacted by brands and corporate companies that choose to promote their products and services using the artist’s image, but does the music quality really suffer? You could argue that value is subjective and that the mainstream revenue has nothing to do with the creative integrity of the artist.

Commercialism is more prevalent in Hip Hop than any other genre, which is clear when you watch any music video and see the amount of product placements. Hip Hop is now the most streamed genre in the world and the culture is being used to sell everything from cereal to alcohol. One of the earliest examples of this was in 1986 when RUN-DMC released their song “My Adidas” dedicating an entire song to the Adidas brand:

When you think of a Hip Hop mogul, Jay-Z immediately comes to mind. He has turned his name into a business empire using power moves and collaborations with corporations. As much of a businessman as Jay-Z is, people will argue that he hasn’t let his music career slide and is still growing as an artist. His last album The Story of O.J. released this past summer, is some of his most creative work yet. It’s no secret that the Hip Hop industry has changed drastically in the past decade. In the digital age we are constantly bombarded with advertisements, and there’s really no escaping it. Hip Hop culture is more visual and mainstream than ever. Almost every rapper today is endorsing some brand whether it be a series of commercials, or placing a product in their music video. The recent music video for “Motorsport” squeezes in product placements for headphones, an energy drink, and four luxury vehicles:

In my opinion artists today can’t get to where they want to be unless there’s some sort of relationship between art and commerce. While there is a ridiculous amount of commercialism in the industry today, it depends on the artist to not let their craft suffer for some cash.