STUNNED BY DRE
Huffpost Black Voices continues their "Tanning of America" series featuring a string of interviews conducted by the author of the book, marketing guru Steve Stoute. Here is part two of his interview with Hip Hop and business superpower Shawn "Jay Z" CarterExcerpt from Chapter Two: "Hard Knock Life":
Yes, it's true that in the past the idea of pushing brands would have been seen as inauthentic, or something you did after your career peaked, or as some kind of selling out. But no longer. Why not? Why wasn't it selling out for rappers to embrace and promote Versace when it would have been seen that way for rock 'n' roll and R&B icons or pop superstars? Well, one reason, as we saw with "My Adidas," was that it's not a sellout when it's authentic to your taste and style anyway and you're already doing product placement for free. It was part of the art and far from selling out; Andy Warhol proved that when he painted iconic pop art portraits of products like Campbell's soup cans, paying homage to one of the most classic, enduring American brands ever.
