Can I Get an Encore

So, it's been a long time since I last wrote something. And instead of telling you what all has gone on lately, I suppose I can just show you.

So yeah, thesis is without a doubt the number one, and pretty much only thing going on in my life right now (except for a certain person calling me "Hebibi" but that's another story for another time ;)) And since research, reading, and summarizing have taken over my entire life, I suppose the only thing I have to give is this, a rambling, rumbling, stumbling stream of consciousness dribble that is the mental backbone of my thesis. I share this only in a vain hope someone might actually read it and figure out what the heck I mean. Ready? Okay.

Run DMC has iconic status, and I mean that in the purest sense of the word. Elements of their on-stage persona have transcended the mere physical and have become emblematic of the era in hip hop. For instance, the all-black leather suits, the black fedoras, the two turn-tables and microphones, the minimalist style, etc. Furthermore, Run DMC set the standard for many of what rappers were “supposed to look like.” This is due to their exposure to the mainstream audience. They were not the first rappers by any stretch, however, they became first rappers to be seen outside of New York on a wide-scale.

In addition, because of Run DMC’s heightened exposure, their visual appearance became the major manner in which they could be emulated. While distinct, their style was fairly easily obtainable. They looked like ordinary individuals, and fairly free of flash. Run DMC exposure was what lead to the end of the “old school artists,” and the heavy disco feel of early rap records.

So why was Run-DMC so successful in crossing over to the mainstream? Of course, many elements have to be taken into account. But, a lot of credit is due to Russell Simmons. He influenced and directed the group, particularly keenly in the early years. Russell produced, made fashion decisions, portioned out rhymes, and got the group onto the radio. Russell Simmons saw the big picture, in the financial sense. As part of Simmons financial savvy, he made/suggest/threatened/whatever the group to make “My Adidas,” which had a lot of potential to be a ripe plum of an endorsement deal for the group. Run-DMC had national exposure, but was about to break into a larger realm with the new record. “Krush Groove,” Live Aid, the fact they already had two videos on MTV, all of which aided giving the group credibility.

The song exists on multiple levels. Of course, it shows the group being true to their roots, but in addition, it speaks directly to Adidas as to why the group, and the song for that matter, would be a great medium to sink their money into. For instance, it mentions Live Aid, the number of concerts the group puts on, their favorite colors, and the admiration of a homeboy who owns several pairs of shoes. It mentions the name Adidas nearly 22 times.

This little bit of entrepanuerialism aided both parties. Run-DMC got even more mainstream acceptance, while Adidas got precedence in the urban market. It was also a very long lasting deal, one that became iconic for both parties. But in addition, it also allowed the listeners of the music to buy into the product. Wearing Adidas shoes without laces became a manner to show solidarity with not just Run-DMC, but the hip hop community as a whole. It was no longer just music that was for sale, but a lifestyle to boot. This played right into Russell Simmon’s eventual emergence into Phat Farm and other endeavors, while staying away from the actual music scene (He supposedly admitted current music trends have long since passed him by). But, he’s promoting a lifestyle, one that he claims is moving away from youth counter-culture, and into the mainstream. Indeed, he claims Phat Farm is more up-scale. What kids who like rap would wear once they grew up, but refuse to adopt suits and ties (once again, his words, not mine). However, regardless of the aesthetic, he is using the principles which helped him achieve success with Run-DMC and Def Jam in the first place.

It is interesting Simmons’ personal definition of hip hop includes the phrase “mainstream culture.” However, judging by his current activities, it makes sense. His importance placed upon branding and maintaining product integrity is more akin to a Donald Trump than an opportunistic hype man. Once again, his retroactive justification of his past activities through current credo fits into traditional American economic activities.

Another defining of terms: traditional American economic values. Or aspirations, rather than values. Entrepanerialism, for one. The idea an individual, through sheer determination, skill, and luck, can carve out a better life for themselves. It also links to coming from authentic poverty or a legit bad situation, which makes their elevation all the more impressive. Though both Simmons’ came from a comfortable two parent working class existence, albeit quite black, it was nowhere near as desperate as other places. Indeed, Run-DMC rapped often of going to school and staying away from street activities. However, they always prefaced their rhymes by “knowing where the bad stuff went on.” Though they weren’t gangsters, they came to embody the persona of what the nation feared. For instance they were held responsible for the Long Beach incident even though they hadn’t yet gone on stage, and had to defend their lyrics, mainly from Kurtis Blow, who was disgruntled in the first place.

Anyway, another traditional American value personified by Simmons is self-actualization. Because of the sheer emphasis placed upon the appearance, it was clear Simmons was not just fashioning himself as a successful individual, but the groups he managed as well. It was easier to claim success already rather than “pay your dues” as the case may be. It also fits quite well into hip hop’s overall element of bragging and not actually just doing something. For instance, a rapper can use an entire song to rap about how hard he’s going to hit you or how smooth his rhymes are, while all the while proving his point. It’s almost a narrative (out of the time period, but “Can’t Nobody Do It Better” by Keith Murray springs to mine. He calls himself a gifted lyricist rather than letting someone else do it.) I guess that’s the other part of the whole Protestant work ethic and self-realization element of rap, you heap praises upon yourself instead of waiting for someone else. So even though they were claiming hard work and hustling, all they were doing is claiming it, not actually doing it. However, because of the success they found by already claiming prior success, their claims got validation. I see the parallel to Buffalo Bill wherein he became the standard by all other Wild West cowboys were measured by, even though he wasn’t actually a part of the Wild West scene. It’s all about claiming, getting first dibs on the experience. It’s a very personal and immensely competitive field, as exemplified by battle rapping being central to the music’s culture. Interestingly enough, Run-DMC was not engaged in any major rap feuds, but the contention between themselves and the whole Russell dynamic could substitute. Also, the claim LL Cool J copied their style.

So mix this whole brew together and it only seems like a manner of time before a Russell Simmons would fuse the music with economics and make himself personally wealthy. Sure the artists he managed didn’t have the best deals. And he took a lot of creative control over them. Plus, there was a lot of resentment for his control over Run DMC even though they were signed with another label. But Russell needed Run-DMC, since that was his bread and butter for a long time. It allowed him to make Def-Jam, and Phat Farm, and his whole empire. His name as a business icon is pretty much due to Run-DMC. (Insert that quote by Run that Run-DMC actually had five members: Run, DMC, Jam Master Jay, Russell, and God.)

But it all stems from his involvement with Run-DMC and Def Jam. It’s also funny how those two have become so linked, even though Run-DMC was never on Def Jam, but in the collective consciousness, a lot of people just assume that’s where Run-DMC was. So what made this deal with Adidas so important? Well, I’m arguing it’s what made Russell Simmons truly break that wall. It was not just widespread exposure, but also a level of acceptance as well. It was quite a bit of money, sure. Most of the money went to Russell, but that’s to be expected. However, it wasn’t just exposure of the band; it was exposure of the band as a brand. It allowed a much higher level of visibility and availability for people to buy into the hip hop lifestyle. That’s what really sustained them; it wasn’t just the music, but the manner by which people could tangibly identify with the music and the culture. And it was mainstream, that’s the beauty of it. Adidas was not primarily a urban lifestyles company, nor did the deal change their direction that much (indeed, they’re still primarily known as athletic and soccer equipment, not that huge of an urban following aside from nostalgia for Run DMC. That’s another big point, Run-DMC and Adidas are pretty much only synonymous with each other. Sure, Adidas has sponsored other rappers, and Run spends a lot of his time hawking Phat Farm shoes, but there isn’t the same connection with any other product. It truly is unique in that regard). But the deal with Run-DMC opened up the urban market to Adidas, and the mainstream market to Run-DMC. It was a perfectly mutually beneficial deal; neither side got the short end of that stick. A uniquely win-win all around.

The particulars of the deal are also influenced by the purposeful misremembering of history. For instance, current interviews by DMC claim Run’s exclamation to call for the taking off of the audience’s Adidas to be unique to the Madison Square Garden concert, while information at the time is fairly persuasive in arguing it was a regular bit of their shows, and that it had been filmed in Philadelphia by Lyor Cohen and sent to Adidas. Also, DMC mentions Russell, inspired by Run’s improvisation to quickly run and hustle an endorsement deal. This actually fits the hip hop practice of claiming an actually lengthy action was easy (and counter-intuitive, since rappers like to claim their extreme work ethic when things hadn’t happened yet. It’s pretty much a purposeful reversal of reality). The narrative works better if it’s Russell who scores the Adidas deal, not members of his Rush Management team. The participants are probably well aware of the effectiveness of the story and have in time; either willfully or subconsciously altered the tale of the endorsement so it becomes a much larger and clearer event. At the writing of their official biography, there was no idea the deal with Adidas would become so iconic, so it wasn’t treated that relevantly. However, as time passed, the event became much more singular. It was the world’s greatest arena, in their hometown, and it was spur of the moment, a much better story.

This idea is the least expanded upon, but it would probably get to how rappers now will mention products in their songs and get some what disappointed when they aren’t paid. Also, it’s how some companies try to get away from appealing to urban markets. It’s an interesting concept, but it needs to be expanded. Alright, let’s take this expansion of the thesis another direction. Russell Simmons is already the preliminary figure in the “My Adidas” aspect, in that it’s actually about his management style at Rush management. What if we expanded into Def Jam and Phat Farm, which were two extensions of his prowess with the hip hop market? Granted, Def Jam is a concurrent development with Run-DMC, but it mixes in Rick Rubin, and also builds on his reputation. Indeed, even though the two were never truly linked, the assumption was there. But his hands on management style was pretty key to the label’s success, but also its challenges. Artists weren’t exactly appreciative of his taking all their money. Indeed, I remember complaints how it seemed Russell had his hands into everything, as if all his hands were taking all your cut. In his defense, he claimed the big record companies were taking his. But still, it might be interesting to expand in the thesis into
criticism of Russell’s style. Big example, Jay always had problems with the IRS. Even after his murder, money had to be raised to pay off his house and provide for his kids’ education. And it was a public fund-raiser, even though Russell and Lyor could have easily cut a check. Furthermore, why was he in this predicament in the first place? Most people claim he was never flashy, and the material he had was modest considering someone of his fame. But if Run-DMC was such a success, should he have been paid? Also, Jay was signed to Def Jam, but Run and DMC were on Profile. Perhaps Jay got less lucrative deal? It’s amazing how the artists represented by Simmons and on Def Jam would never straight up criticize his taking a large cut, but the resentment is there. Of course, isn’t that every artist and their management? Ronin Ro suggests Russell was simply doing the best he could with the current situation. And there’s an element of truth to that, I suppose. There was no precedence for getting rap truly out there to a widespread mainstream audience. Plus, if you get down to it, pretty much any regional rap that developed outside of New York was due to these artists getting very wide exposure. It seems simple, but the most mainstream artists had the most effect. Sure, the “sell outs” might have been inspired by the Busy Bees and Kool Moe Dees of the world, but since they got the widest exposure first, they became the originators.

But all that exposure comes from Russell’s desire to make himself wealthy, to be frank. And that’s not a bad thing. Heck, it’s a very American thing to do. America is all about presenting itself as the land of opportunity; and Russell Simmons probably bought into that myth pretty hard. As such, it provides justification for a lot of his more selfish actions. It also fits into a greater American narrative. He’s a success story; he came from nothing to make something that most people were giving away for free. But the beauty of it comes in that it’s a self-told success story. He’s the guy guiding his narrative. As such, he’d be very image conscious, as evidenced by his branding and attention to visual appearance. And that’s why clothing makes such a likely extension of his branding.

Clothing isn’t as open to interpretation as other elements. It’s very appearance based, but it makes sense, since it’s linked to commercialization and product placement. His name became the product, hence why they call Phat Farm an urban lifestyles company, not a rap music clothing label. But judging by Russell’s attempt to ensure a Phat Farm racing jacket wouldn’t be worn by bums, he tries to be purposefully limiting.

So yeah, that's what it is now. All about economics and self-actualization through branding. I'll be really surprised if anyone actually reads this.