# Why is rap allowed to be so shamelessly commercial? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 7, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495 "2004-09-07T16:17:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/41 "2004-09-08T22:31:11Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I mean, really: As invasive as product placement has become, I’ve occasionally mulled the vast number of other opportunities that are still out there for it. The one that sickened me most was when some author (I forget her name) accepted big-time cash to write a book that prominently featured some watch or other. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/42 "2004-09-08T22:37:30Z")
> [@Ilsa Lund](#): > > Public Enemy - You’re Gonna Get Yours (My 98 Olds) - Yo! Bum Rush The Show, 1987. 😉 > > But seriously, go listen to some of the albums I listed and report back to us. Ah, but I didn’t say there _wasn’t_ one. I said you’d see the difference. And don’t you? That song’s not commercial. Like all PE songs, it’s really about how much Chuck D hates the cops. Bastard. I’m making a point here. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/43 "2004-09-08T22:53:03Z")
> [@Padmaraga](#): > > HAHAHAHAhahahahaha_cough_cough\* Seriously, you had nothing better to do than to back your ass into a thread you obviously know nothing about just to drop this little nugget of ignorance? Word to the wise: _This kind of driveby crap is generally looked down on around here._ ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/44 "2004-09-09T01:34:27Z")
> [@Jimmy Chitwood](#): > > Ah, but I didn’t say there _wasn’t_ one. I said you’d see the difference. And don’t you? That song’s not commercial. Like all PE songs, it’s really about how much Chuck D hates the cops. > > Bastard. I’m making a point here. Oh, when I said listen to the albums I listed, I was talking to the OP, not you. I agree entirely with your point. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/45 "2004-09-09T02:26:21Z")
No, no, I got your meaning. I really should use smilies. But I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![LuckyMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@LuckyMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckyMe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/46 "2004-09-09T06:38:01Z")
> [@LilCutie](#): > > Actually, (bolding MINE) the song is called"Lean Back" and he’s saying to do the ROCK-A-WAY. > > Jenny\* Thank you. YES!! Thank you!! It drives me crazy that so many think its rocawear. I’ve had to clear that up a hundred times already. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495/47 "2004-09-09T07:23:48Z")
A reference of possible interest: [American Brandstand](http://www.agendainc.com/brand.html) > [@](#): > > American Brandstand is a chart based on the brands that appear in the lyrics of songs in the top 20 singles in the Billboard chart. American Brandstand is an Agenda research project - since January 2003. Scroll down to see this week’s lyrics. > > The brand count drops to 19 this week as Kanye West’s _Jesus Walks_ drops out of the Billboard top 20, taking Avis and Lexus with it. However, Cadillac and Mercedes Benz are in the new Billboard #1 spot in Ciara’s _Goodies_. > > In the American Brandstand chart, it’s a bad week for Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs, Range Rover and Roberto Cavalli, all of which drop out of the top 20. > > Several brands creep higher to create a nasty cocktail at #16; Cool Whip, Dom Perignon and Hpnotiq. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-rap-allowed-to-be-so-shamelessly-commercial/263495.md?page=2)