How Cadillac's Trajectory was Altered Forever By Southern Hip-hop

“Me & you, yo momma and yo cousin too. Rollin' down the strip on vogues, coming up slammin’ Cadillac doors”

Those famous lines come from none other than OutKast on one of their many classic songs named “Elevators”.

On that particular song, Big & Dre are alluding to a car that Southern rappers have always had reverence for.

Cadillacs.

Caddy’s have always been a huge part of Hip-hop culture in the South.

The same way Cartier “Buffs” are a symbol of affluence in Detroit, whipping a tricked-out Caddy was a status symbol in the South — it was something the players drove.

Recently, I saw some new work from Cadillac, and it got me thinking about how deep its history is with Black culture, especially knowing that back in the day, Black people couldn’t even buy them.

So, y’all know the vibes… It’s been a minute since we’ve done a history piece. Today let’s talk about Cadillac.

IN 1902…

Henry Ford (yes, the same one who created Ford Motors) had a falling out with some of his investors at Ford.

By the time the dust of the fallout settled, Ford Left.

BUT, a few key partners stayed at the company, and the remaining investors brought in engineer Henry Leland to appraise the plant and its worth.

Instead of just selling everything off, Leland convinced everyone to stick it out in the automobile game. They renamed the company "Cadillac," after Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, a French explorer who founded Detroit in 1701.

And just like that, a new auto brand was born…

However things took a turn for the worst around 1928.

If you recall what your history teacher taught you about the roaring 20s, it was a rough time in the U.S.

Why?

THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

Its effects were sprawling, and the auto industry felt its impact the worst.

Despite all of the success that Cadillac amassed in the early 1900s, the company was brought to its knees because of The Depression.

By the beginning of the 30s, sales had dropped by over 80%, and Cadillac was close to shutting its doors forever. However something miraculous happened:

Nick Dreystadt Went To The Board With An Idea

Nick was the head of Cadillac’s service department.

As a part of his job, he would occasionally travel the country to go visit dealerships, and while traveling he noticed something:

Black People were in the dealership getting their Cadillacs serviced at dealerships across country.

This was odd to say the least…

See, the thing is, Cadillac had a unwritten & longstanding policy not to sell to Black people.

Because of that, Black Americans who wanted a Cadillac had to have a white friend or acquaintance go to the dealership on their behalf to buy the car. And because of that, Cadillac missed out on an entire demo of car buyers — a demo that made them a ton of cash.

However, at Nick’s urging, most Cadillac dealerships nationwide got rid of the policy and began selling to Black people directly. Shortly after, their sales skyrocketed above even their toughest competitors.

It was official: The Black Community saved Cadillac from failure.

The insight that the Caddy team was missing before Dreystadt stepped in was that Cadillacs were a status symbol for wealthy Black people. Much like today's luxury cars, Caddy’s held the same prestige — especially considering the lengths a Black person would have to go through to get one.

By the 1950’s, affluent Black people, from business professionals to sports stars, were buying Cadillacs. A good example is this picture below of boxing star Sugar Ray Leonard posing against his Pink Caddy in Harlem outside of his businesses.

But, let’s dig a little deeper.

Fast Forward to the 1970s…

The Eldorado became one of the most sought after models from Cadillac as evidenced in the picture above of Sugar Ray.

The love for the Eldorado intensified by the 1970s because of:

Blaxploitation films.

Blaxploitation was a genre of movies in the 70s that gave birth to a ton of Black film stars. Although many of the films were about pimps, hustlers, etc. Characters like Willie Dynamite, and Goldie from “Return of the Mack” were notorious in their films for driving around in Cadillacs.

Specifically, they were know for Driving Fleetwood Eldorados (affectionately known as El Dogs).

Goldie’s Cadillac (Return of The Mack)

More to the point, the music accompanying these films would provide the soundbed for Southern Hip-Hop in years to come to.

Giants in 70s Soul music like Curtis Mayfield, and Willie Hutch underscored the music of these classic films and helped carry the energy into a new generation.

This Curtis Mayfield song is a perfect example:

“Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin' the scene with a gangsta lean”

Now, let’s add in some more ingredients…

Old School Caddy’s became the standard for playas and pimps because of the 70’s.

And around the same time that Blaxploitation matured as a genre, Hip-hop was slowing creeping onto the scene.

And, as the technology improved, SUVs became status symbols in culture. With that in mind, Cadillacs equity shifted from Old School’s to…

THE ESCALADE

Cadillac introduced the Escalade in 1999 as their first major entry into the SUV market, and its success helped establish the brand's presence in this segment.

It was their answer to the growing popularity of luxury SUVs, and it quickly became a favorite, especially within the rap community. Many rappers had Escalades on their video sets and they were also the SUV of choice for those wanting to travel big, but in style.

It was a hit, but Hip-hop took the sales to another level

Mannie Fresh with an Escalade at a videoshoot

According to Ad Age, sales of the Escalade increased by 84% in 2002 because of Hip-hop.

SALES. INCREASED. EIGHTY FOUR. PERCENT.

If you ever hear brands talk about the The Hip-hop Effect, that’s what it is in a nutshell.

it’s similar to what Nelly’s song about Air Force Ones achieved in the same era. Because of him, the price of the AF1 effectively increased from $80 to $100, and their sales increased. The Hiphop Effect.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SOUTH, SPECIFICALLY?

Glad you asked.

Southern Hip-hop stars were the biggest champions of Caddy’s going back to the early 90s (and likely the 80s too).

The Culture that was started back in the 70s Blaxploitation era had continued to permeate the sound and Hip-hop’s most prominent southerners were riding in old schools.

**I couldn’t list everyone, but here are a few highlights

THE 1990S

Man, the scene was so thick/ Lowriders, '77 Sevilles, El Dogs
Nothin' but them 'Lacs All the players, all the hustlers/ I'm talkin' 'bout a Black man heaven here, nahmsayin'? Yeah - Rico Wade, Players Ball

In the 90s, Hip-hop duos like OutKast, UGK, 8Ball & MJG, Three-Six Mafia, and The Big Tymers hit the scene.

They each had their own sounds, and regional influences but when it came to cars they all had an affinity for Cadillacs.

OutKast’s debut album was entitled southerplayalisticcadillacmusic.

Birdman told you “don’t tangle & twist it when comes to these cars I am that hitta”

Pimp C of UGK said he loves flatback because he’s a cadillac-er

That’s because Caddy’s are in the South’s DNA.

2000s: Rich Boy, Texas & Riding slabs

In the mid-2000s Texas rap really started to boom in the mainstream.

Car culture in Texas is so strong that their affinity for old schools (often known as Slabs) begane to take over the culture.

A fan favorite from this era is Still Tippin by Mike Jones. Pay close attention to the cars, you’ll them swangin (something that happens on highways in Texas to this very day)

Slab culture is deep, and you’ll see everything from Escalades to old schools featured in the video:

Around the same time as the Texas boom, a rapper from Alabama named Rich Boy hit the scene.

His contribution to Cadillac culture?

A hit record named “Throw Some D’s”, which is still a fan favorite for many today.

The hook itself said that he just bought a Cadillac — the video serves as a testament to that.

2010s: BIG KRIT

Now I was creeping across slow, in a candy '84
With the fifth wheel and a chandelier, and the elbows with Vogues - Big K.R.I.T., Shake it

Big K.R.I.T. is a rapper from Mississippi who emerged during the Blog Era of Hip-hop.

For K.R.I.T. the Cadillac is a visual identifier for his brand. Every one of his early albums had references to old schools and even the artwork for his debut album featured a Cadillac that crashed from outer space (very dope concept, I think)

He even named his second album “Cadillactica”

Take a look at some of his album art below

FAST FORWARD TO NOW

Cadillac’s relationship with HIp-hop is as strong as ever.

Whereas the association has mostly been an implicit one based on association in lyrics and videos, the brand has now fully embraced its HIp-hop lineage by partnering with Killer Mike in 2022 and most recently, Big Boi this year.

Killer Mike

For this partnership, Cadillac wanted to promote their new Escalade V

Mike’s partnership with Cadillac included a microsite filled with behind the scenes content and the announcement of Cadillac’s “Rising Icon”

Big Boi

All of this brings us to this year where Cadillac has a full circle moment by working with Big Boi, who’s work as 1/2 of OutKast has championed the Cadillac brand for decades.

In their new spot (with music produced by Organized Noize), they introduce their all new electric edition of the Escalade named the IQ.

EPILOGUE

And that’s pretty much it, folks.

The rabbit hole goes deeper but just know that Cadillac has been a cultural symbol in the South for decades. And oddly enough, I’m starting to see them around again (props to their marketing teams for that).

Will I ever cop a Caddy? I’m not entirely sure.

But writing this piece did make me go back and list to some old southern favorites. If nothing else, Play some southern rap this weekend.

It’s that type of day.

Peace.