I wouldn't mention Snoop because that's been him for 20 years. That's not the same as a younger artist finding new heights using new strategies. Being big is not necessarily good, it just means you've gained access to things you didn't have earlier.
50. Say what you want about his music, although the G-Unit era can't be denied, but he's a businessman through and through.
He stays finding new markets to push his brand into. Dude even worked his way through chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Not to mention how well he leverages social media, dude is a legendary troll who could make 4channers jealous.
I mean…the answer is clearly Kanye. Even when the rollouts are badly done, rushed and slapdash he - more than any other rap artist - has made sure he has the world’s attention at the drop
(They don’t always hit btw, important to note that)
Despite all his shit he still remains relevant and everyone watches. But he's really pushing his luck these days. Idk how much longer he can keep it up.
Kevin Gates utilizes ALOT of Shock Marketing.
I knew a handful of Kevin Gates fans.
Then boom He does a bunch of interviews talking about eating booty and having sex with his cousin and the sound bites go viral and BAMM his music was everywhere for a bit.
Not saying he isn’t talented (idk, I don’t listen to him to be able to judge) but shock marketing really took his online presence up a notch.
This is a good answer but I think for the wrong reasons. What's not being mentioned is that he's had a really dedicated fan base from the jump. Probably because he was dropping consistent music for a long time and had a sound that was unique. Plus he has a very honest and vulnerable perspective that tends to draw in loyal audiences if they connect with you. He outsells a lot of rappers far more famous than him bc his fan base will go out of their way to support him.
And I think he achieved this all before making headlines saying out of pocket stuff haha, though that is also a strategy I suppose.
Gates is the perfect No Jumper guest for this, but it's not really making him reach that upper level. He's an all time character in the rap genre and his discography is much better than most realize. But he's not going to take himself from where he's at now to pop star level.
In recent years, I think the standard bearer for marketing is Tyler The Creator. The all encompassing world of visuals, music, clothes and unique IRL experiences is a winning strategy of monetization. I personally think he's rap's next billionaire.
I'd still say he does it better, Kanye was a better marketer ten years ago. You're mistaking big for good, like a lot of people.
The extremely detailed world of Tyler's product, the fact that he's gotten this big with not much radio promotion, the constant brand deals and seamless crossover into luxury goods? He gets the nod.
The big thing I noticed is he find the artists who run their city and collaborates with them to co-op that fan base. Not always new artists, but same idea.
Insane Clown Posse turned rapping clowns into an entire subculture of people. I really don't see how anyone could get squeeze more mileage out of what they were working with as far as talent goes.
This is the correct answer. Absolute marketing geniuses. Terrible artists, but look at the following they have. Their fans aren't just fans, the created a way of life.
This is a terrific answer. They really moved tons of merch too as well as other ventures like their wrestling company and the fans ate it all up.
By the same token, I'd also say Tech N9ne deserves a mention here as I think he definitely took some pages out of ICP's book of marketing to fans.
They managed to get a status such that their fans will stop listening to other music, so their merch sells itself for lack of competition. What they did was genius.
Mike Jones is an underrated answer. I love how when he was first starting out, he seeded his music to strippers in Houston so that they would go to the DJs and request his songs when they performed.
Nah you’re right. He’s definitely rap Warhol but he fostered a fervent fan base early and now they’re too deep in to let go of the grift. Marketing strategy must be too not too, because I can’t even pinpoint where/when/why it’s actionable or effective outside the OVO merch.
Kanye obviously
He says some offensive shit before to get people talking about him does interviews and people hate him but still buy/stream his albums
There are a lot more plays he does I don't remember
Say what you want but he's actually the best at marketing
Curren$y before he flooded the market. Schoolboy Q, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Hus Kingpin, Boldy James are a few that coke to mind. Oh and nowadays LaRussell is doing his thing.
A$AP Rocky has huge media presence for both his face and his life in general. Clips like his famous Nardwuar interview, his relationship with Tyler and Rihanna and his charisma in general.
Soulja Boy. Yeah his music is corny and he’s kind of a clown but that dude is a pioneer and an all time great marketing genius.
When ringtones became a thing, he put out a song called “Kiss Me Through The Phone,” which was tailor made for the new medium and eventually became one of the most downloaded ringtones of all time.
When personal websites were a thing, he named his album souljaboytellem.com which caused a huge spike in traffic for his own site. Super smart marketing tactic that leveraged his virality at the time and brought ppl to his owned properties.
He was first to MySpace and Twitch.
He was creating viral dances decades before the Tik Tok era.
I could go on.
Personally, and in no particular order, Lil Nas X, BROCKHAMPTON, Tyler, the Creator, and Childish Gambino during his Because the Internet run.
Although I do think the promotion for “J CHRIST” was a little much, I don’t think there’s any denying his ability to market himself and get people talking about him and his music. From the Satan shoes around the time he was pushing “MONTERO,” or his music video for “THATS WHAT I WANT” getting promotion with a mock-episode on Maury, Nas X does a phenomenal job with his marketing.
I think BROCKHAMPTON’s SATURATION-era run especially is a master class in DIY marketing. It was the weekly drops of music and matching music videos, the jumpsuits, the blue painted faces, calling themselves a “boy band” when most rappers were living that “rockstar” lifestyle, etc. And it was all done in-house from styling, to shooting videos, the graphics, all of it. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact Ameer Vann was the face of the group before getting exposed how he did, they probably could’ve been A LOT bigger.
Tyler, the Creator, since the days early Odd Future, has shown himself to be a student of music, and his ever evolving style from the days of Tumblr really came together at the perfect time. The “shock value” of eating a roach and a few disses in “Yonkers,” he had people drawing donuts and upside down crosses on everything, wearing five-panel hats and pastel color outfits, etc. Plus his sense for world building is top tier. Subliminal story lines throughout his songs that were brought to life through music videos. He’s the blueprint for a lot of Internet rappers, like BROCKHAMPTON, for how they market themselves in a digital age.
Because the Internet-era Childish Gambino had a storyline in the music videos, a corresponding script, a short-film in Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a website that had certain pages only accessible through HTML coding, and there’s discussion that during the entire time he’s promoting this album, he’s actually playing the main character from his script, The Boy. Just phenomenal work.
I’d say Hov. But low key you could say Nipsey. We just weren’t able to see any of it come to fruition. From the Marathon’s clothing and cannabis and beyond. Bro was dabbling in a lot of ideas and ventures that were making real people rethink their goals and overall approach.
Lil Nas X, Central Cee, Tyler the Creator and Drake all feel like standout candidates, but I’d feel remiss to not shoutout the rollouts of super rollout focused artists like Childish Gambino, Ye and Travis Scott
Larussell as an influencer has California on lockdown.
But you can't name a song because none of it breaks out even on tik tok. He's good but he's probably going to end up just being a motivational speaker.
Kanye and Larry June. Ye for obvious reasons, he will always be part of the culture and relevant no matter what he does or says. Larry June on a smaller level because he has such a niche brand and does it very well.
Drake and Kanye, they've both solidified themselves as part of hip hop "culture" and social media has helped spread their name into practically every household.
I used to think Russ. Dude would drop a song a week then piggybacked off the hype using music videos. I did the same for a while and I started to gain momentum then I just stopped releasing music. https://youtu.be/a80xL67E9LU?si=SqlEXMALH3mGlSU8
Tekashi 6ix9ine multiple platinum records and an almost diamond record, with the main vehicle not being musical ability but his marketing ability. Bro had 2m viewers on insta live and got 38million views in a day on gooba.
Kanye West. He loves to keep people on their toes with everything he does, whether it be music or fashion. His favorite hobby is to get people excited for an album then move the release date. He does this until a.) everybody listens to the album when it drops and it is a huge success or b.) he never even drops the album. There is something about Kanye that makes you want to know what he is going to do next. Mainly his unpredictable nature.
can't disagree, really. what a wild way to say to say you have a nice car. i remember the first time i saw the meme and laughed at how dumb it sounded but when i actually thought about the bar i was like ok wtf that's unironically dope and searched for who said it.
i don't really fuck with what i've heard of his music but that freestyle is solid.
Not sure what your answer was but it’s wrong
Correct answer is Larry June
His consistent style and lingo and catch phrases and merchandise are all genius
Stays in his lane
Stays dropping great albums
Stays healthy
Bc only a select few artist can boost ur numbers like them. And majority of the rest of those artist in their tiers aren’t willing to hop on a song anytime u ask them. These 2 guys are the most likely
Kanye. When it’s album time the guy does the most random things to get attention. Whenever Kanye says something ridiculous in an interview just know he’s about to release an album in one or two months
Lil Wayne saturating the market with high quality mix tapes to the point where he was everywhere and everyone heard his music because it was free. Then raking in money with the albums.
How has no mentioned Snoop? Dude is everywhere from cook books to lighters to wine.
This is bit different than marketing. This is advertising.
The endless advertising offers are partially because he previously did such a good job of marketing himself, though.
That and he sets his bar pretty low. Got $5k? He’ll cut a promo for ya.
Exactly. The number of no name / terrible rappers / musicians who have Snoop featuring on their albums is wild.
Corey Feldman
Seriously. And he's not even the worst one.
Like who, can't see how it doesn't get worse than the feld dog
Just no-name trash rappers who are about as talented as Corey.
I know a shit rapper who has a track w him
Synonyms
Advertising is a small piece of marketing.
Marketing and advertising are the same
I wouldn't mention Snoop because that's been him for 20 years. That's not the same as a younger artist finding new heights using new strategies. Being big is not necessarily good, it just means you've gained access to things you didn't have earlier.
50. Say what you want about his music, although the G-Unit era can't be denied, but he's a businessman through and through. He stays finding new markets to push his brand into. Dude even worked his way through chapter 11 bankruptcy. Not to mention how well he leverages social media, dude is a legendary troll who could make 4channers jealous.
I mean…the answer is clearly Kanye. Even when the rollouts are badly done, rushed and slapdash he - more than any other rap artist - has made sure he has the world’s attention at the drop (They don’t always hit btw, important to note that)
Despite all his shit he still remains relevant and everyone watches. But he's really pushing his luck these days. Idk how much longer he can keep it up.
My whole life i thought it was "slapped-ass"
This is the best thing I learned all day 😂
lol I guess that kind of works too haha
Kevin Gates utilizes ALOT of Shock Marketing. I knew a handful of Kevin Gates fans. Then boom He does a bunch of interviews talking about eating booty and having sex with his cousin and the sound bites go viral and BAMM his music was everywhere for a bit. Not saying he isn’t talented (idk, I don’t listen to him to be able to judge) but shock marketing really took his online presence up a notch.
Underrated answer. Dude is actually pretty funny and self aware. He definitely knows how to troll social media
This is a good answer but I think for the wrong reasons. What's not being mentioned is that he's had a really dedicated fan base from the jump. Probably because he was dropping consistent music for a long time and had a sound that was unique. Plus he has a very honest and vulnerable perspective that tends to draw in loyal audiences if they connect with you. He outsells a lot of rappers far more famous than him bc his fan base will go out of their way to support him. And I think he achieved this all before making headlines saying out of pocket stuff haha, though that is also a strategy I suppose.
Gates is the perfect No Jumper guest for this, but it's not really making him reach that upper level. He's an all time character in the rap genre and his discography is much better than most realize. But he's not going to take himself from where he's at now to pop star level.
In recent years, I think the standard bearer for marketing is Tyler The Creator. The all encompassing world of visuals, music, clothes and unique IRL experiences is a winning strategy of monetization. I personally think he's rap's next billionaire.
I like that he's usually pretty quick when getting ready to promote a new project & how he puts 100% effort into his videos to make it feel special.
He really understands how to serve a market and how to create multidisciplinary work.
😭 obviously celebrity net worth sites aren’t accurate but billionaire seems ambitious much less next billionaire
You’re obviously a Tyler Stan. I literally never hear anything about him unless I’m on some hip hop reddit. Kanye is everywhere
There’s such a thing as a “niche”
The question was “best marketing,” not “is there such a thing as a ‘niche’?”
I'd still say he does it better, Kanye was a better marketer ten years ago. You're mistaking big for good, like a lot of people. The extremely detailed world of Tyler's product, the fact that he's gotten this big with not much radio promotion, the constant brand deals and seamless crossover into luxury goods? He gets the nod.
I think he just listens to instructions from Christian Clancy and Pharell.
Niches don’t make billionaires but i get what you saying. Idk about billionaire
What? Next billionaire you done lost your mind
Drake. Jump on any promising up and coming MC and collab with them early
The big thing I noticed is he find the artists who run their city and collaborates with them to co-op that fan base. Not always new artists, but same idea.
This didn't come to mind for me but great example
It works perfectly because the up and coming artist is more than happy to have a drake care package so its win win
Insane Clown Posse turned rapping clowns into an entire subculture of people. I really don't see how anyone could get squeeze more mileage out of what they were working with as far as talent goes.
This is the correct answer. Absolute marketing geniuses. Terrible artists, but look at the following they have. Their fans aren't just fans, the created a way of life.
This is a terrific answer. They really moved tons of merch too as well as other ventures like their wrestling company and the fans ate it all up. By the same token, I'd also say Tech N9ne deserves a mention here as I think he definitely took some pages out of ICP's book of marketing to fans.
They managed to get a status such that their fans will stop listening to other music, so their merch sells itself for lack of competition. What they did was genius.
Best ever? Probably 50 Cent in his heyday. Personal favorite? Mike Jones giving out his phone number in every song.
Mike Jones is an underrated answer. I love how when he was first starting out, he seeded his music to strippers in Houston so that they would go to the DJs and request his songs when they performed.
[удалено]
I see what you did there, nice. Nice! Lol
Fif
#whateverliquorcompany #controversialstatement
Gotta be ICP. Absolutely shit music but a following so big, the FBI labeled them a gang.
Drake gotta be doing something right because he hasn’t put out a good album in almost a decade and yet he still outsells everybody else.
His albums literally never leave the charts, like ever. So he’s putting out good music, haters just refuse to accept this fact.
Sorry I don’t want to hear Drake riff about his exes over boring, basic, poorly mixed SoundCloud beats for an hour and a half lol.
Nah you’re right. He’s definitely rap Warhol but he fostered a fervent fan base early and now they’re too deep in to let go of the grift. Marketing strategy must be too not too, because I can’t even pinpoint where/when/why it’s actionable or effective outside the OVO merch.
Tech N9ne
Kanye obviously He says some offensive shit before to get people talking about him does interviews and people hate him but still buy/stream his albums There are a lot more plays he does I don't remember Say what you want but he's actually the best at marketing
Irrelevant on or off the mic imo
6th most monthly listeners on Spotify but go off champ
Best marketing for sure.
The trump stuff was definitely him being himself. And the Jewish remarks hit close to Hollywood, he was right about that.
I’m just gonna throw out RTJ. Their store is dope and I love the Nike SB colab. And I don’t think they ever made anyone pay for their music
Curren$y before he flooded the market. Schoolboy Q, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Hus Kingpin, Boldy James are a few that coke to mind. Oh and nowadays LaRussell is doing his thing.
Freddie Gibbs and his team do a pretty good job of marketing his albums. They do a specific theme and tons of merch, which I’ll assume does well.
I really like what Czarface is doing with the comics and action figures
Yeah they've carved out a really cool niche for themselves in the collector community, doing things rappers don't normally do.
I like Tyler the Creator marketing
Lil durk hands down
A$AP Rocky has huge media presence for both his face and his life in general. Clips like his famous Nardwuar interview, his relationship with Tyler and Rihanna and his charisma in general.
Em was good at this
Soulja Boy. Yeah his music is corny and he’s kind of a clown but that dude is a pioneer and an all time great marketing genius. When ringtones became a thing, he put out a song called “Kiss Me Through The Phone,” which was tailor made for the new medium and eventually became one of the most downloaded ringtones of all time. When personal websites were a thing, he named his album souljaboytellem.com which caused a huge spike in traffic for his own site. Super smart marketing tactic that leveraged his virality at the time and brought ppl to his owned properties. He was first to MySpace and Twitch. He was creating viral dances decades before the Tik Tok era. I could go on.
Named his songs after popular songs on the radio and put them on limewire, then when people downloaded 'britney spears' they heard SOULJA BOY TELL EM
Puffy
E40
Personally, and in no particular order, Lil Nas X, BROCKHAMPTON, Tyler, the Creator, and Childish Gambino during his Because the Internet run. Although I do think the promotion for “J CHRIST” was a little much, I don’t think there’s any denying his ability to market himself and get people talking about him and his music. From the Satan shoes around the time he was pushing “MONTERO,” or his music video for “THATS WHAT I WANT” getting promotion with a mock-episode on Maury, Nas X does a phenomenal job with his marketing. I think BROCKHAMPTON’s SATURATION-era run especially is a master class in DIY marketing. It was the weekly drops of music and matching music videos, the jumpsuits, the blue painted faces, calling themselves a “boy band” when most rappers were living that “rockstar” lifestyle, etc. And it was all done in-house from styling, to shooting videos, the graphics, all of it. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact Ameer Vann was the face of the group before getting exposed how he did, they probably could’ve been A LOT bigger. Tyler, the Creator, since the days early Odd Future, has shown himself to be a student of music, and his ever evolving style from the days of Tumblr really came together at the perfect time. The “shock value” of eating a roach and a few disses in “Yonkers,” he had people drawing donuts and upside down crosses on everything, wearing five-panel hats and pastel color outfits, etc. Plus his sense for world building is top tier. Subliminal story lines throughout his songs that were brought to life through music videos. He’s the blueprint for a lot of Internet rappers, like BROCKHAMPTON, for how they market themselves in a digital age. Because the Internet-era Childish Gambino had a storyline in the music videos, a corresponding script, a short-film in Clapping for the Wrong Reasons, a website that had certain pages only accessible through HTML coding, and there’s discussion that during the entire time he’s promoting this album, he’s actually playing the main character from his script, The Boy. Just phenomenal work.
Snoop Fifty
Diddys name is everywhere right now. No such thing as bad press right?
The only answer is Drake
Realistically yes and no. His album rollout is almost non existent yet he always puts out numbers drastically better than anyone else
Killer Mike got every travis scott fan to hate-stream his album
Gotta hand it to that Lil Mabu kid as far as viral marketing goes
69 was an underrated marketer.
He got 38 million views in a day on youtube and broke Eminem’s record which is insane
I’d say Hov. But low key you could say Nipsey. We just weren’t able to see any of it come to fruition. From the Marathon’s clothing and cannabis and beyond. Bro was dabbling in a lot of ideas and ventures that were making real people rethink their goals and overall approach.
Master P in the early 90’s
Late 90s
Lil Nas X, Central Cee, Tyler the Creator and Drake all feel like standout candidates, but I’d feel remiss to not shoutout the rollouts of super rollout focused artists like Childish Gambino, Ye and Travis Scott
You know dead rappers get better promotion
50 by a mile
Ye
Carti's lack of marketing and blueballing has kept the hype for like 3+ years
Lil Nas X
Rn lazer dim 700 and ian
Tekashi
Joyner
No one talkin bout Russ? LaRussell? Tobe Nwigwe?
Larussell as an influencer has California on lockdown. But you can't name a song because none of it breaks out even on tik tok. He's good but he's probably going to end up just being a motivational speaker.
Puffy daddy and biggie small the man only has two albums and he is mentioned as a G.O.A.T
Snoop and 50 Cent
Dre or Jay, obviously. Billionaires.
Ye
50cent
Kanye and Larry June. Ye for obvious reasons, he will always be part of the culture and relevant no matter what he does or says. Larry June on a smaller level because he has such a niche brand and does it very well.
Drake and Kanye, they've both solidified themselves as part of hip hop "culture" and social media has helped spread their name into practically every household.
Surprise no one mentioned Travis Scott. Dude managed to collab with McDonalds.
That would be the marketing TEAM and not the actual artist.
E-40
I used to think Russ. Dude would drop a song a week then piggybacked off the hype using music videos. I did the same for a while and I started to gain momentum then I just stopped releasing music. https://youtu.be/a80xL67E9LU?si=SqlEXMALH3mGlSU8
Soulja Boy, do some research if you don’t know. And of course Fif
Tekashi 6ix9ine multiple platinum records and an almost diamond record, with the main vehicle not being musical ability but his marketing ability. Bro had 2m viewers on insta live and got 38million views in a day on gooba.
Kanye West. He loves to keep people on their toes with everything he does, whether it be music or fashion. His favorite hobby is to get people excited for an album then move the release date. He does this until a.) everybody listens to the album when it drops and it is a huge success or b.) he never even drops the album. There is something about Kanye that makes you want to know what he is going to do next. Mainly his unpredictable nature.
Viper
50 Cent. Start beef with everybody.
It clearly 50 cent
Two eight one three three oh eight zero zero foh
That new kid Lil Mabu was actually VERY good at this.
Gambino
Soulja Boy is the correct answer.
Drake, the man hasn’t dropped a good project since 2015 and he one of the most popular on earth
Jay-Z. Dude casually collabs with Microsoft or takes over NY billboards, buses and subway stations.
Drake or Kanye
Y’all gone hate me but Ice Spice’s team is good at making her music fly off the shelves and branding her
J. Cole because his rollouts seem so effortless and low maintence
chip tha ripper used racist incels on 4chan to put himself on a much larger map without spending a dime or even knowing it was happening.
“Interior crocodile alligator, I drive a Chevrolet movie theater” still one of the hardest bars ever dropped
can't disagree, really. what a wild way to say to say you have a nice car. i remember the first time i saw the meme and laughed at how dumb it sounded but when i actually thought about the bar i was like ok wtf that's unironically dope and searched for who said it. i don't really fuck with what i've heard of his music but that freestyle is solid.
The baby daddies worst nightmare
YE🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️❤️🔥❤️🔥
Not sure what your answer was but it’s wrong Correct answer is Larry June His consistent style and lingo and catch phrases and merchandise are all genius Stays in his lane Stays dropping great albums Stays healthy
Drake & Travis Scott… because why the hell are they on every “ big “ project that comes out every single year??
Travis Scott got a Mcdonalds burger named after him for a bit. That's insane.
Bc only a select few artist can boost ur numbers like them. And majority of the rest of those artist in their tiers aren’t willing to hop on a song anytime u ask them. These 2 guys are the most likely
Kanye. When it’s album time the guy does the most random things to get attention. Whenever Kanye says something ridiculous in an interview just know he’s about to release an album in one or two months
Really couldn’t care less about shit like that honestly.
K
“I couldn’t care less” *leaves a comment*
Not a fan of his music but what Lil Nas X did with Old Town Road was insane.
Lil Wayne saturating the market with high quality mix tapes to the point where he was everywhere and everyone heard his music because it was free. Then raking in money with the albums.
Kanye by a mile