Professor Josh Ehrig, Professor James B. Peterson - Hustle Hard - Week Five lyrics

Readings for this week: Steve Stoute's The Tanning of America, chapters 1-4. Chapter 1: Walk This Way Stoute begins with his first time hearing "Rappers Delight" on the radio. This is a common experience for thousands of Americans. Conversations often begin between members of this generation by the question, " Where were you at when you first heard Rapper's Delight?". Stoute understands Fab 5 Freddy as a pivotal figure in promoting, connecting, and being an amba**ador of the culture. Freddy was able to connect the uptown and downtown scenes together, all while putting money in his people's pockets. Sylvia Robinson discovers the necessary members to create a rap record for the radio. She recruits and finds the group that becomes, The Sugar Hill Gang. Debbie Harry, with the influence of Fab 5 Freddy, writes a rap for her song Rapture and it becomes the first record on the Hot 100 Billboard list to contain a rap. The music video also features Freddy and a young Jean-Michel Basquiat. Hip-Hop, according to Stoute was about rags to riches stories, that the entire country could appreciate. Run-DMC and Aerosmith recorded and shot the video for "Walk This Way" in 1985 and this was a hugely important and successful record in terms of rap become popular music. Companies began to see the potential of Hip-Hop and started to hire artists to endorse products and brands. Chapter Two - Hard Knock Life Stoute understands the stories of emcees to be "remixed" interpretations of the American Dream, therefore making them well received by the ma**es. Jay-Z's 1998 song, Hard Knock Life was the epitome of this culture. Stoute shows that Hip-Hop is famous for co-opting and re-purposing products that weren't exactly intended for the demographic. LL Cool J was another early rap artist to endorse a particular brand or product, with his choice of the Kangol cap. Stoute uses the example of Elvis "borrowing" black culture to relate to the "tanning" effect. This may be an overstep. Along with sneakers, boots, and caps, sports apparel became one of the most connected markets to Hip-Hop, especially the Raiders, whose merchandise was often rocked by N.W.A. Chapter Three - For Us By Us In the pop culture marketplace, credibility is everything, according to Stoute. The A's of marketing: Authenticity and Aspiration Coca-Cola's attempt to create New Coke was a failure because it wasn't authentic for the people. "Authentic" Hip-Hop artists begin to get endorsements from major companies because of their loyal fan bases. These artists include A Tribe Called Quest, Nas and AZ, and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. Sprite recognized this and became the soft drink most a**ociated with Hip-Hop culture. Tommy Hilfiger was another brand heavily a**ociated with Hip-Hop street culture, but was not necessarily intended as street wear. The Gap as well. In 1997, LL Cool J, who at the time was endorsing the Gap, wore a FUBU hat during a commercial. Unbeknownst to the camera crew, LL Cool J used a nation platform to promote a fellow Queens native's company.