Lifestyle Rap: A Blueprint For Brand Building

At its core, Hip-hop elicits emotions that many other genres can’t or don’t. Maybe it’s the beats or the emcees themselves. Maybe it’s the magic that happens when those two things combine.

Either way, these days, I find myself drawn to a style of rap that can best be described as Lifestyle rap.

Lifestyle rap is aspirational — the person guiding you on the audio tale isn’t necessarily boasting (all of the time, at least). Instead, they're painting a picture of a particular way of living that one can aspire to.

The most recent addition to my Lifestyle rap library is the new Larry June, 2 Chainz, and Alchemist project, “Life is Beautiful.”

If you’ve ever listened to Larry or Chainz, you know their lyrics are motivational. And if you’re a fan of Alchemist, you know his beats will tell a story in themselves.

For a preview of the vibes, check out the video below from the project:

“Life is Beautiful” finds them living the high life in different areas and epitomizing opulence (as if the Speed racer themed Benz in the video wasn’t enough to highlight that).

As it stands, brands can learn a lot from rappers like them, especially through the lens of brand building. Let’s get into it.

DEFINING THE SOUND

I spent $1,000 on candles, I’m at Saks Fifth - Larry June

Hip-hop music is no stranger to lifestyle or luxury raps, but what differentiates this sound is that the themes of financial achievement, health, and overall prosperity shine through in ways you won’t necessarily find on the radio.

The references are elevated, and the vibes are wavy. Most songs in this genre sound like a 70-degree day in a droptop.

This new joint from Sir Michael Rocks of The Cool Kids personifies what that sound is.

Moreover, the key differentiator from the other rap niches is that lifestyle is about FLYNESS.

Flyness isn’t about trends, it’s about taste.

It’s 98 Air Max DTs, over Air Max 95s.

It’s Diptyque Candles over Yankee.

It’s old schools over foreigns.

It’s imported couches (like the song below).

With Lifestyle Rap, taste is about having the money to live a luxurious life AND understanding that it can be achieved by grinding. The message is implicit, and the aesthetic is worth aspiring to.

Consider the emcees mentioned earlier, along with others like Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, Curren$y, etc., and how they’ve built core fanbases over the years with this tactic.

In the record below, for example, Roc Marci weaves slick lyrics as the visual cues show a level of living that only comes with having taste.

In that same way, he also reminds us of the best of what life has given us.

In other cases, like with Curren$y, his take on lifestyle shows that you don’t have to stray too far from the classics, while embracing what’s new.

The common thread is that both show what it means to live on their terms in a way that is real to them and the audience.

WHAT BRANDS CAN LEARN

I. Curation over Trendhunting:

I'm feeling lovely and blessed
Tribeca at Bubby's I'm enjoying a lemon press
Not that Minute Maid crap, they squeeze these lemons they self - Curren$y

As we’ve established, lifestyle emcees create records highlighting their personal taste.

Meaning in a world where Rolls Royces and busted-down Rollies are the norm (busting down a watch essentially depreciates the asset), their sound and look are distinct.

Does that mean that lifestyle rappers never rap about current things?

Nah.

It means that whatever they talk about comes from a place of curation rather than trend chasing.

Westside Gunn, for example, will take you on an audio tale like the one below, Outlander. Though he wears Louis Vuitton and Asics, you likely haven’t seen anyone wear them like he does.

He calls himself the FlyGod for a reason, and his lifestyle makes the music that much better. In fact, you can hear his style come through in the beat selection — in a world of hard 808s, drum loops, etc. Gunn often opts for drumless loops from his longtime collaborator, Conductor Williams.

If you hear that drumless sound these days, it was likely because of Gunn.

My point is this …

Brands typically task their creative agencies with figuring out what trends to latch onto for their most recent campaigns. Still, a more effective route for the long term may be about curating your vibe instead.

In a world where every brand is hopping to work with XYZ influencers or collaborate on a capsule collection with XYZ brand, your taste level has to be higher; it has to be distinct.

Distinction doesn’t come from getting the biggest name you can find, it comes from getting the flyest individual you can. Followers and likes be damned.

II. It’s All in the Details

Bag the cashier wearin' cashmere
That’s twenty racks for a jacket and some khaki pants (Damn)
Bummy rappers with bunny rabbit ears, you mad I'm a money magnet
Carats do the money dance in my sunglasses - Roc Marciano

This tactic depends on your brand health and what you want customers to believe about you going forward, but it’s valuable nonetheless.

When you look at where rappers excel in the lifestyle space, much of it is in the visuals that accompany the music.

From the album covers to the silverware in the music videos, each detail of the aforementioned rapper’s videos signals the level of affluence and taste that sells the vision of their brand.

For reference, here are a few covers from Roc Marciano and Westside Gunn — notice both treat their work as priceless art, products of high culture:

For them, the details elevate what would normally be just another project in their catalog, making them part of high culture.

This adds to the point earlier about distinction. Curation doesn’t just stop at the product level, it has to extend to vis ID and create tension — in this case it’s street rap blending with high fashion.

What’s the tension for your brand?

III. Motivating The Audience

They don't make 'em like me no more, I'm real real player with it
Count a hundred thousand, go and eat with my lady friend
Valet the whip, orange guts, this that custom shit (Off top)
That money just hit a little different when you thug for it - Larry June

Lifestyle rap is interesting because it retains accessibility, and the rappers want their audience to achieve the level of success that they have.

Larry June, for instance, has ad-libs like “Numbers” and “Good Job” which are about the hustle and grind. He motivates himself while telling the audience to stack and get theirs, too.

Below is an example from last night, where ESPN used his recent album cover for a meme. He even motivated Steph Curry (who scored 56 points that night).

This feels natural for both Larry and ESPN, who’s leveraging Larry’s brand for cultural cache.

If you’re repping a brand that hopes to enter the lifestyle space today, it may be worth considering what motivational/aspirational messaging it can use to draw the audience in while maintaining its premium feel.

IV. CREATE DISCIPLES

When it comes to Lifestyle, especially in the early 2010s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a rapper who built a brand better than Curren$y.

Jet Life, his label, has also become a mantra for those who share his principles: fast cars, fly women, weed, staying low-key, etc.

Looking at Curren$y’s brand teaches you that your brand can stand the test of time if you make it your business to turn your most tapped consumers into evangelists for it.

You know a Jet Lifer when you run into one. The brand is so strong that in the comments of almost any Curren$y-related video, you’ll see “Jet Life to the next Life.”

For context, watch the meet-and-greet video below, in which Curren$y meets Jet Lifer, who’s already rocking the merchandise and letting Spitta know how long he’s been a supporter.

EPILOGUE

There’s no shortage of music out there, but as I get older, these vibes speak to me the most. And trust, I didn’t list everyone for the sake of brevity. But if the songs above interest you, check out others like Dom Kennedy, Preemo Rice, Payroll Giovanni, to name a few.

I can guarantee a few things:

1. You’ll either get that extra push of motivation to get through the day.

2. You’ll find some new brands to check out that you might not have heard of before.

3. You’ll elevate your taste level.

One.