Monday, March 28, 2005

Awww...Burger. McDonald's is trying to get rappers to use "Big Mac" in their new songs.   Apparently they want to have songs on the radio talking about their stuff, and they're prepared to play $1 to $5 per play on the radio to make it happen. Can you believe that they're still cranked off about Rob Base after all these years?  (Hint:  fourth verse.)    Seriously, though, check out this article on MTV's website.  Rappers have been selling out for years.  Busta Rhymes got paid for "Pass the Courvoisier" - by Courvoisier.  Kanye West was dropping product placement on his last album.  I don't have much good to say about modern hiphop artists, and this doesn't make me feel any better about the current scene.  Imagine Chuck D or Q-Tip or even LL selling their lyrics to the highest bidder.  I know some of you will say, "Hey, what about Run-DMC and Adidas?"  Naw.  They did "My Adidas" first, because they genuinely liked the stuff.  (Then, admittedly, Russell Simmons hustled Adidas into making the marketing deal, but I really believe that the song was pure.)    There's a long history of clever marketing in rap music, but this just stinks to me.  6:50:52 PM     Speak up!  []