Unsolicited Endorsements in Music

Artists who've made songs of their favorite brands.

Brands Put to a Beat - Since hip hop's earliest days, rap artists have been giving a shout out to their favorite products — from hotels to cars to clothes to liquor. Here's a look at popular products that have been given hip hop love ... even if they weren't looking for it.  (Photos from left: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Brands Put to a Beat - Since hip hop's earliest days, rap artists have been giving a shout out to their favorite products — from hotels to cars to clothes to liquor. Here's a look at popular products that have been given hip hop love ... even if they weren't looking for it.  (Photos from left: Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BET, Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Nelly – "Air Force Ones" - Taking a que from Run-DMC's homage to Adidas nearly 20 years earlier, Nelly shouted out this Nike-produced footgear in 2002. And like "My Adidas" before, "Air Force Ones" was a hit.   (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Getty Images for Bud Light)

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Nelly – "Air Force Ones" - Taking a que from Run-DMC's homage to Adidas nearly 20 years earlier, Nelly shouted out this Nike-produced footgear in 2002. And like "My Adidas" before, "Air Force Ones" was a hit.   (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Getty Images for Bud Light)

Busta Rhymes - Busta Rhymes has been picked by Toyota to help hawk their new 2015 Sienna minivan. In the music video for the "Swagger Wagon," which dropped on Friday (Aug. 1), Busta spits alongside the Neubert family, who get their stunt on as they do their best Soulja Boy "Crank That" interpretation.(Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for VH1 Save The Music)

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Busta Rhymes – "Pass the Courvoisier" - When rappers seemed to be bigging up Hennessey at every rhythmic turn in '02, Bussa Bus thought to throw another, more elegant sounding name in the cognac wars: Courvoisier. Fortunately for Busta, the cognac's parent company, Allied Domecq saw an uptick in sales and gave the MC a promotional deal.  (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for VH1 Save The Music)

The One and Only - Jennifer Lopez won't let nothing hold her down. Here, the mom, mogul and performer captivates the crowd while on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Jennifer Lopez – "Louboutins" - In 2009, J.Lo showed love to her favorite shoe, singing about her fierceness in those famed red-bottomed Christian Louboutins.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Young Jeezy – "Air Forces" - Young Jeezy named this hit after hip hop's favorite footgear and thusly rapped about that rubber-bottom life: "I went from old school Chevys to drop top Porsches/You couldn't walk a mile off in my Air Forces/And you ain't did what I did/When you from where I from, you gotta get it how you live." (Photo: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

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Young Jeezy – "Air Forces" - Young Jeezy named this hit after hip hop's favorite footgear and thusly rapped about that rubber-bottom life: "I went from old school Chevys to drop top Porsches/You couldn't walk a mile off in my Air Forces/And you ain't did what I did/When you from where I from, you gotta get it how you live." (Photo: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images)

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He Pioneered Hip Hop Endorsement Deals - Run DMC landed rap's first endorsement deal when their manager, Russell Simmons, took Adidas executives to a show. They performed "My Adidas" in front of thousands of screaming fans, and the rest is history. Rick Ross, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and other endorsement-happy rappers are no doubt grateful (not to mention rich). (Photo: Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)

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Run DMC – "My Adidas" - The trio who helped lay the groundwork for an entire industry, Run-DMC were the first to make a product-themed rap song. After showing an Adidas exec how popular they made the sneaker (by having fans hold theirs in the air during a concert), Run-DMC became the first rap music act with an endorsement deal.  (Photo: Drew Gurian/Invision/AP)

Chingy – "Dem Jeans" (feat. Jermaine Dupri) - St. Louis rapper Chingy laid his southern twang on the 2006 track "Dem Jeans," with a little help from rapper and super-producer Jermaine Dupri. While describing his infatuation with his leading lady's body in the song, the emcee compares her smooth complexion to that of a certain actress.Lyric: "Caramel skin tone / Damn, you look like Nia Long."(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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Chingy – "Holiday Inn" - Almost 30 years after the Sugar Hill Gang mentioned the hotel chain in "Rapper's Delight," Chingy wrote a song celebrating the party times he's had at the corporate rest stop.  (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Kreayshawn – "Gucci Gucci" - While most rappers rhyme to show their affection for a product, Kreayshawn did the opposite, spitting verses about her disdain for designer gear — Gucci, Prada and the like. (Photo: WENN)

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Kreayshawn – "Gucci Gucci" - While most rappers rhyme to show their affection for a product, Kreayshawn did the opposite, spitting verses about her disdain for designer gear — Gucci, Prada and the like. (Photo: WENN)

"Strong" - This project wouldn’t be legit if it didn’t include a song that endorsed the album title. Over a slappin' DJ Mustard-produced banger, the distinct bass line and chants are so infectious here, Dro lights one up for the smoking section. Sonically the song has potential to go further, but the ATL rapper fails to capture the same magic with his clever one-liners that other hits of past ("Shoulder Lean") and present ("FDB") created.   (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

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Young Dro – "Polo Down" - Over 20 years after the Brooklyn gang Lo-Lifes helped popularize Polo gear amongst the hip hop generation, Atlanta rap star Young Dro made this anthem about Raplh Lauren's signature line.  (Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)

Mistah F.A.B. - A proud product of the Bay Area, Mistah F.A.B. is one of many artists that popped off locally — but he's gained national attention, too. His native Oakland acknowledged all the love that he's given the city as well as his charity work when Mayor Jean Quan declared "Stanley Fox aka Mistah F.A.B. Day" last month. (Photo: Antwan Duncan/WENN.com)

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Mistah F.A.B. – "Hit Me on Twitter" - As if the social networking site needed a shout-out from Mistah F.A.B., but they got one anyway as the Oakland-raised rapper let folks know how he can be reached.  (Photo: WENN)

Soulja Boy - Diamond Shantaniece Mackey claimed in December 2013 that Soulja Boy fathered her son six years ago. In the paperwork, Mackey alleged that she only had two sexual partners during the period in question and the other person was of mixed race. She maintained that 5-year-old Portlon strongly resembles Soulja. Mackey had requested a DNA test, and claimed that she had witnesses who could verify her relationship with SB and his past visits to see the child.  (Photo: Ben Rose/PictureGroup)

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Soulja Boy – "Bapes" - For a spell, the Japanese clothing company BAPE — or Bathing Ape — was a coveted item among rap stars and hipster-hop heads. Superman rapper Soulja Boy got in on the craze too, paying homage to the clothier with this song. (Photo: Ben Rose/PictureGroup)