A collection of rap tracks that name products. From the classic couture fashion labels (Chanel) to the mundane (Hyundai, Kraft Cheese) and every Nike, Hennesy, and Lysol reference in between. Such ubiquitous references are the most conspicuous consumption possible. Are they attempts at glamor? Do they reflect the brands common in everyone’s lives, or perhaps they just make a killer rhyme. Either way, they begin to seem like the result of product placement when contextualized…
(Midol/Lysol) “Niggas catchin headaches, what? What? You need aspirin?, This type of pain, you couldn’t even kill with Midol. Fuck around get sprayed with Lysol, In your face like a can of mace, baby, Is it burnin? Well fuck it, now you’re learnin”
(Barnes and Noble) “Will Barnes and Noble harm the global, Will Amazon Com be round when grammar’s gone mom?”
(Black and Decker) “Wit rhymes average MC’s can\’t see like a specter, The inspector with the nectar, sharp like a Black and Decker”
(Hennesy) “So I keep – drinkin Hennessy, bustin at my enemies, Will I live to see twenty-three?”
(Hyundai) “Lyrically, when compared to me, I know your style is fake, Fraud, manufactures, cheaper than Hyundai”
(iPOD) “The ipod, no God, zero circle world, The blow-a turtle world, smoke from the purple world”
(Chanel) “My bathroom is Chanel, my bedroom Louis Vuitton, And office decorated in, Ralph Lauren, I got a, Versace couch and pillows I sleep on”
(IKEA) “You have no idea, Crackheads furnish your homes like Ikea, over here”
(Kraft) “We tight never loose like bangles, or Kraft singles, I talk to my Lord, don’t mingle, don’t fake the tingle”
(Panda Express) “Or Maury Santana, scatter takin the honies out to Panda Express, For the Panda’s best, girl the exttravagance is lovely”
(Best Buy) “And the truth hurts (ow), Wearin’ a blue shirt the Best Buy for the price”
(Mott’s Apple Sauce) “Nigga I got the Motts, I thinkin’ the amount, a lot I got”
A project by David Stein