50 years of business moves that elevated hip-hop

In 1986, the power of hip-hop’s commercialism was recognized at a Run-D.M.C. concert at Madison Square Garden. The rap trio had just released their highly successful junior album, Raising Hell, which featured the track “My Adidas.” In the audience was Angelo Anastasio, an Adidas executive and friend of the group’s road manager. During the performance of “My Adidas,” the group asked the crowd of thousands to hold their Adidas in the air—a very obvious nod to the power hip-hop held in the sneaker world. What came shortly after was a $1 million endorsement deal with the group’s own signature line.

Rappers have graced both the big and small screens. Tupac Shakur had his fair share of film roles, and Ice Cube, Ice-T, and Queen Latifah continue to work as actors. In 1990, it was Will Smith’s role as a street-smart teenager in a sitcom that proved hip-hop artists could portray goofy, good-natured characters, breaking away from common violent, disturbed, and criminal tropes.

Prior to becoming an award-winning movie star, Smith led a successful career as a rapper. As part of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, a hip-hop duo from West Philadelphia, Smith recorded his first hit single, “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble,” and later went on to release rap’s first double album with He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper. The album’s second single, “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won a Grammy.

After Sean “Puffy” Combs was let go from his internship at Uptown Records, he approached Clive Davis, the founder of Arista Records, with a business proposal that would result in one the largest hip-hop labels in the world. With the backing of Davis, Bad Boy Records was launched in 1993. The label quickly signed Craig Mack and The Notorious B.I.G. and released a hit single—cementing its place as a rival against Death Row Records. After Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear” peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 top 10, Biggie’s debut album Ready to Die went multi-platinum. Since then, Bad Boy Entertainment has gone on to operate as an imprint of Epic Records, under Sony Music Entertainment.

On Sept. 11, 2007, 50 Cent’s album Curtis dropped on the same day as Kanye West’s album Graduation, with the latter selling 300,000 more units. Prior to the sales battle, 50 Cent’s career was on a downward spiral, with his knack for feuds with other artists turning fans off. From a business perspective, the challenge served both rappers well: 50 Cent released a top-selling album and West sold close to 1 million units in one week, earning him his biggest debut-week sales numbers ever. “It’s real good for hip-hop. We’re really pushing each other. If 50 wasn’t dropping that day, I wouldn’t have went so hard on my album. If I wasn’t dropping he wouldn’t have went so hard,” West told Genius.

Jay-Z is known for his business savvy as much as his rhymes. In 2008, the rapper took a $150 million deal and left his role as president of Def Jam Recordings to create an entirely new partnership with Live Nation Entertainment. Roc Nation evolved notably over the years, transitioning from a hybrid record label, talent management agency, and music publishing company to a full-service entertainment company, inclusive of artist and athlete management, label, publishing, touring, film, television, and new ventures.

In 2009, rapper Rick Ross added music executive to his resume of accomplishments with the launch of Maybach Music Group. Signing a diverse roster of rappers including Meek Mill, Wale, French Montana, and DJ Khaled, and releasing seven albums with No. 1 debuts on the Billboard 200, the record label has become an undeniable leader in hip-hop.

Historically, hip-hop was far removed from the Parisian ateliers and luxury shows of high fashion. But over time, as rap entered the mainstream and luxury brands began capitalizing on streetwear fashion, hip-hop artists have been invited to the table—becoming fashion’s new royalty. In 2009, Kanye West landed a signature sneaker with Louis Vuitton, paving the way for other rappers to collaborate with high-end European fashion houses.

In 2007, Kanye West began working with Nike on his first pair of Yeezys. The partnership led to a second release in 2014, and was the first time that Nike ventured outside the realm of sports and into the music industry. What appeared to be a monumental collaboration came to an end for various reasons, including the brand’s refusal to pay West royalties and let him release a larger unit. Another brand, however, was keen to offer the rapper full ownership and creative control. Adidas signed West and began handling fulfillment and production for his Yeezy brand. By 2019, Adidas sales of Yeezy exceeded $1 billion annually. But in October 2022, after a series of antisemitic comments by the artist, Adidas ended the partnership.

In 2013, fashion designer Virgil Abloh launched his Off-White fashion label, merging streetwear, luxury, art, and music. Through his relationships with rappers, Abloh’s haute brand instantly transformed modern hip-hop fashion and redefined luxury wear in the genre. In its early days, the brand was frequently spotted on Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, Travis Scott, and Future. By the late 2010s, Off-White had made a name for itself in the rap game as a prestige label: 21 Savage, Offset, and Playboi Carti all modeled pieces for the brand, and Gunna and Lil Uzi Vert name-dropped it in songs.

When Apple acquired Beats by Dr. Dre in 2014, not only did the $3 billion deal elevate the already popular leader in the premium headphone market, it became the brand of choice in the music, entertainment, and sports worlds.“The addition of Beats will make our music lineup even better, from free streaming with iTunes Radio to a world-class subscription service in Beats, and of course buying music from the iTunes Store as customers have loved to do for years,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, in a press release.

Dr. Dre, of course, is famous for being a trailblazer in elevating the hip-hop scene—from starting his rap career as part of N.W.A., launching Death Row Records, producing for Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur, and signing Eminem.

In May 2016, Chance the Rapper released his third mixtape, Coloring Book, exclusively on Apple Music, for two weeks. It was an unusual and monumental move for an independent artist whose prior releases were free of charge on Soundcloud. The $500,000 deal kicked off what became a successful mixtape, with Coloring Book winning Best Rap Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards, making it the first streaming-only project to ever win the award and the first mixtape to chart on the Billboard 200 based solely on streams, reaching No. 8.

In 2019, Gucci Mane and Gucci finally sealed the deal on a long-awaited collaboration. The Italian fashion house’s Spring/Summer 2020 Cruise collection featured brightly colored, ready-to-wear garments including footwear, tracksuits, carry-alls, womenswear, and a fine selection of menswear pieces. The iconic photoshoot for the campaign—which featured Iggy Pop and British actress Sienna Miller—portrayed a “glam-meets-gangster” aesthetic that luxury fashion houses historically rejected. The ad also doubled as a promo for Woptober II, Gucci Mane’s 14th studio album.

In 2015, Jay-Z acquired Tidal for $56.2 million. Despite clever marketing strategies, like exclusive releases and artist ownership, by 2020, Tidal had registered only 2.1 million paying subscribers, compared with Spotify’s 138 million, Apple Music’s 60 million, and Amazon Music’s 55 million. After a number of controversies, including accusations of inflated streaming numbers and missed royalty payments to record labels, the platform looked to be failing. But in 2021, Jack Dorsey’s company, Block Inc. (formerly known as Square), agreed to acquire the streaming service and paid $237.3 million for an 86.2% stake, according to Reuters.

It isn’t common for a musician to also lead as a writer, actor, producer, and director, but Donald Glover, who goes by the stage name Childish Gambino, beat the odds. With the success of his various projects—most notably his television shows Swarm and Atlanta, the latter of which has won two Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards—it was only a matter of time before a leading studio network would bank on the rapper. In 2021, Amazon Studios offered the multi-hyphenate artist an eight-figure deal and curated a channel featuring his projects.

The decision to appoint Pharrell Williams as the creative director for Louis Vuitton came this year, after the death of Virgil Abloh, who previously held the title. Williams already had collaborated with LV in 2004 and 2008; stepping in as creative director served as a big move for the rapper, and perhaps an even bigger move for rap itself.

In the brand’s public announcement, Williams was described as “a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to fashion.” Aside from being a Grammy-winning producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter, Williams has his fair share of fashion experience as a co-founder of the streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club.