Thanks For The Fresh: Mutually Beneficial Hip-Hop & Brand Collabs - Page 4

photo: WENN

A great collaboration expands creativity and elevates the profile of all parties involved, a winning strategy that Wells Fargo encourages all the time. It’s why they work together with their customers to discuss their financial goals and help their hard-earned money go as far as possible. Hip-Hop has always been about collaboration (think: he’s the DJ, I’m the rapper). So it only makes sense that the concept of brands aligning themselves with Hip-Hop and vice versa, in some shape or fashion (you’ll see what we did there) continue to flourish.

Here’s a look at a few standout collabs that proved mutually beneficial to everyone involved. Hit the flip.

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Photo: WENN.com

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine launched Beats By Dre in 2008. It only made sense that the man who created classic records like The Chronic co-sign speakers and headphones that would allow users to hear the music the way he intended them to. With celebs and athletes drawn to the brand, the accessories that were once an afterthought were suddenly at the top of everyone’s shopping list.

Photo: YouTube

But in 2014 the game changed again when Apple purchased Beats Electronics for a cool $3 billion. Dr. Dre would finally drop a new, critically acclaimed album, Compton, a year later.

A$AP Rocky & Guess 

A$AP Rocky proudly hails from Harlem, but his style is a mix of downtown and uptown style, with plenty of couture from high fashion runways thrown in the mix. Part of his sound, and style, is paying homage to those who came before him, so linking with Guess Jeans for a capsule collection only made perfect sense.

Guess sells jeans, Lord Pretty Flacko stay fresh dipped. Win win.

Michael Jordan + Nike / Jordan Brand

Michael Jordan isn’t the first choice when you think “Hip-Hop fan,” but Hip-Hop sure loved Michael Jordan. Add to that iconic commercials from Spike Lee, and Nike’s Air Jordan brand of sneakers became legendary. Of course it helped that the athlete wearing them had otherworldly talents on a basketball court. But aesthetically, the Air Jordan line up of sneakers captured Hip-Hop’s eyes, and wallets, with the release of every model.

The fact that Air Jordan Retros—and that Jordan Brand became its own standalone brand—is a testament to that longevity.