Eminem's brand-namedropping

March 1, 2003 8:18 AM

Eminem's brand-namedropping
posted by oissubke (24 comments total)

Geez, don't people have nothing better to do with their life than listen to eminem and count how many times dude says 'MTV'?
posted by Sijeka at 8:45 AM on March 1, 2003

Geez, don't people have nothing better to do with their life than listen to eminem?
posted by AstroGuy at 8:48 AM on March 1, 2003

Heh, what AstroGuy said.
posted by Plunge at 8:51 AM on March 1, 2003

Geez, don't people have anything better to do than post on Metafilter about people posting on Metafilter about people listening to eminem while tracking what brand names eminem uses in his lyrics?

Note: this is self-depreciation humor. I must be British.
posted by ?! at 9:01 AM on March 1, 2003

Geez, don't people have anything better to do than to point out self-deprecating humor and use small tags?
posted by iconomy at 9:04 AM on March 1, 2003

This study misses the point that Eminem sometimes supports these products, sometimes uses them as insults, and sometimes brings them in merely because they rhyme.

I think the sponsors of this study need to further catagorize the references, and group them according to how much love Em has for them.

Only then, will you see the truly disturbing trends, which will reveal the name of the devil.
posted by askheaves at 9:09 AM on March 1, 2003

PS - the list on Eminem is what is kindly referred to as a "magnificent obsession". I think magnificant obsessions rock. I had no idea that Eminem was a brand whore. Now I do. Pointing out links to smidgeons and tidbits and trivialities is what MetaFilter does best.
posted by iconomy at 9:12 AM on March 1, 2003

Yeah, he'll full of hatorade!

Oops, wrong corporate-designed untalented singer...
posted by clevershark at 9:15 AM on March 1, 2003

Now the Adidas I possess for one man is rare
myself homeboy got 50 pair
got blue and black cause I like to chill
and yellow and green when it's time to get ill
got a pair that I wear when I'm playin ball
with the heal inside make me 10 feet tall
my Adidas only bring good news
and they are not used as selling shoes
they're black and white, white with black stripe
the ones I like to wear when I rock the mic
on the strength of our famous university
we took the beat from the street and put it on TV
my Adidas are seen on the movie screen
Hoyywood knows we're good if you know what I mean
we started in the alley, now we chill in Cali
and I won't trade my Adidas for a ??
My Adidas..
posted by Stan Chin at 9:17 AM on March 1, 2003

"Smell the Folgers crystals"

What can you say about a man who can't even brew a decent cup of coffee? With what he's earning, he could easily afford a pound of fair-trade organic and a french press.
posted by 2sheets at 9:31 AM on March 1, 2003

the most frustrating thing about articles that quote em: they don't quote him correctly, if at all. two of the six lines are from different rappers on the disc.

does this mean em should host a childrens show? no, but if you're going to analyze/breakdown/infer/numberize - do it right.

this is the same phenomenon that i noticed when reading something aong the line of this. (hover for the title)

geez and stuff.
posted by folktrash at 9:36 AM on March 1, 2003

i'm glad i started a trend. 'geez' could be a new brand.
posted by Sijeka at 9:50 AM on March 1, 2003

I've wondered for a while now if certain artist (such as Eminem) are actually paid for product placement in their rhymes.

If they aren't - they should be.

Mainstream rap (the most polluted and shallow of any stream) is full of references to Cadillac Escalade, Gray Goose Vodka, clothing and even video games.

At a party the other week a friend was commenting on his love of Gray Goose and I had fun explaining that it was a hip-hop approved brand - much like Crystal.

And before this thread melts down to "MeFi hates rap & hip-hop" - I just want to say that few adult fans of the genera bother with Eminem and his derivative ilk. Alternative Rap and underground hip-hop keeps my head nodding.
posted by wfrgms at 9:52 AM on March 1, 2003

Jay Kay from Jamiroquai is being paid to wear Adidas in his videos, that's for sure.
posted by Sijeka at 9:57 AM on March 1, 2003

"Snark Hunting," is an Igor Production.

Hmph. The Snark has been co-opted by Igor International, whose clients include Nestle, Gap, Amway, Banana Republic, and more.

It pisses me off to see Lewis Carroll used like that.
posted by Shane at 10:10 AM on March 1, 2003

the real interesting question is, how much money does he get for that kind of product placement?
posted by matteo at 10:43 AM on March 1, 2003

good Salon story:
The future [of advertising] is already in place," May says. "It's going to be ... during the show." ... digital television will allow for a seamless fusion of commerce and television. "Let's use 'Friends' as an example," he says. "Say there's a scene and Monica stands up goes to the fridge. A girl watching at home says, 'Wow, I love that sweater.' "Your remote is going to be like [a] cursor. You'll point the arrow on the TV and click Monica's shirt. That will pause the program, and a little window will pop up and say, 'Available at Macy's for $129.95. Click here to order it now.' It's not in place now because people need digital TV to have it work."
May sees a similar trend coming on DVDs. "All of a sudden, a bar code is going to pop up letting you know something in that scene is for sale, and you'll be able to buy it right off the screen."
posted by matteo at 10:48 AM on March 1, 2003

Maybe Jaykay just likes his Adidas. A friend of mine works for a small Irish record company, they get given loads of Adidas shoes, tops etc which are then passed on to the artists in the hope that they'll wear them in magazine interviews, on stage etc etc. A lot cheaper than explicit sponsorhip.
posted by Damienmce at 10:56 AM on March 1, 2003

matteo - definitely deep shades of 'The Truman Show' in that quote - geez.
posted by thunder at 11:48 AM on March 1, 2003

wfrgms: an interesting tidbit from the NYT:

At least 80 percent of the Cognac consumed domestically is drunk by African-Americans, according to Rémy Martin, which welcomes with open wallets placements like music video appearances, where Cognac is an icon of wealth, health and happiness. Rémy has a new $6,000 bragging-rights bottle, Louis XIII Diamond, with a Baccarat crystal stopper that encases a 1.5 carat amber-colored diamond. Courvoisier has L'Esprit de Courvoisier — a $5,000 Lalique.

I don't listen to a lot of mainstream rap, but I have discovered the pleasures of Grey Goose, and also Belvedere. I was surprised to hear Talib Kweli name drop Heineken on his new album. Though it appears Heineken has recently been targeting black audiences though music.
posted by pitchblende at 12:11 PM on March 1, 2003

I guess all the placement on SNL's The Ladies' Man gave Courvoisier a bad name...
posted by clevershark at 4:16 PM on March 1, 2003

The mention of products and brand names in rap is one of the best things about it. Rap is relevant to people's real lives as actually experienced -- where products and brand names play a huge role both as themselves and as points of reference for analogies and metaphors.

You have to realize that rappers don't use brand names to promote the products necessarily, but as a form of entertainment, and way to convey another message entirely through analogy and metaphor. So to a large extent, they use brands more the way Adbusters does than the way a commercial does.

I think we all need to get over our angst about the commercialization of popular culture and just happily appropriate brands for our own use as part of our mental landscape.
posted by maciej at 8:13 PM on March 1, 2003

macij - lastnight I put on one of my favorite rap albums of all time: People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm by A Tribe Called Quest. On the cd - in one tiny verse Q-Tip raps about going downtown and having a sandwich with a Guinness Stout. The cd was first released in 1990.

Mentioning a product like this is fine. Obviously Phife & Q-tip felt that more imagery could be conveyed with with the name Guinness rather than just "beer."

What concerns me are upcoming and even established artist who sell our their lyrical content to the highest bidder. As a consumer I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth when I know that a portion of the actual music on a disc has been paid for by Addis or Crystal.

Granted - this is all just speculation. I have no way of knowing if Cadillac or Hennesy has rap artist on their pay roll or not... But it seems like an obvious leap for an ad agency to make.
posted by wfrgms at 6:29 AM on March 2, 2003

I just want to say that few adult fans of the genera bother with Eminem and his derivative ilk. Alternative Rap and underground hip-hop keeps my head nodding.

wow, wfrgms, you're so cool. Can I hang out with you?
posted by jonmc at 9:07 AM on March 2, 2003