The Cool Kids vs. Mountain Dew

“Beyond broader concerns about brands intermingling with musicians, the lasting impression of listening to Chuck Inglish talk about the deal with Green Label is that there’s an established generation of musicians who simply don’t care about the traditional notion or prestige of record labels. In hip-hop, there was a time when rappers were proud to define themselves by the labels they were signed to. “Def Jam — tells you who I am,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D. boasted. Labels had strong logos, iconography, and all-star lineups; label-branded tour jackets were coveted items. But, of course, nearly all of those artists, including Public Enemy, also fell out of love with their labels. (Rappers aren’t shy about putting their disgruntlement into rhyme, whether through coded messages, like De La Soul’s frustrations with Tommy Boy wanting the group to write more commercial songs, or one-time Biggie Smalls collaborator R.A the Rugged Man brashly penning “Every Record Label Sucks Dick.”)”