The Washington Post
1986: "My Adidas" by Run-DMC helps spark the popularity of the athletic-shoe brand among rap music fans. In 2005, Adidas celebrates its 35th anniversary by releasing a pair of sneakers dedicated to Run-DMC.
1999: Rapper Jay-Z invests in RocaWear, an urban fashion line, and promotes it during his "Hard Knock Life" concert tour. Other rappers, including Nelly, Master P, and 50 Cent, go on to promote their own clothing lines, often in their song lyrics.
2002: "Pass the Courvoisier," by Busta Rhymes featuring P.Diddy, not only promotes the French Cognac, but uses it in its title. The song reportedly helps send Courvoisier's sales soaring.
2002: Jay-Z invests in Scotland-based Armadale Vodka and begins promoting and rapping about the liquor brand. He also incorporates Armadale into some of his lyrics on songs such as "All I Need" off of his double-platinum album, "The Blueprint," to introduce Armadale to the hip-hop audience.
2003: Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek," which includes a fully disclosed product-placement for Seagram's Gin, is released and later tops the chart. At the end of the song, it says: "Now I got to give a shout out to Seagram's Gin 'cus I drink it and they payin' me for it."
2004: Advertising Age reports Maven Strategies struck a deal with McDonald's to find rappers who would include "Big Mac" in song lyrics. The fast-food giant agreed to pay the rappers between $1 and $5 each time their song was played on the radio, according to the industry trade publication.
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