Money makes people do weird things. Like, really weird. Celebrity endorsements come to mind as the birthplace of some of the more batshit insane advertisements that have seen the light of day. Following on from the announcement that Soulja Boy just signed a $400 million contract with an online poker fund, we’ve put together five of the craziest and hilarious musician endorsement deals. A word of warning, don’t read this article while you’re at work, because some are too ridiculous to contain your laughter and/or incredulity. Also there’s a Victoria Secret ad, and it’s really creepy.
Method Man x Sour Patch Kids
Yes, this happened. Method Man, formerly of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, not only appeared in a 4-minute commercial for the candy company, but also wrote a rap for the sweets. The video opens hilariously with a parental caution screen, claiming that it “May contain content inappropriate for children.” Yeah, like extreme amounts of sugar. Also the lyric “pussy pump,” bleeped out in the final edit. Watch it below, and ponder how far the poor man has fallen. This is the same man who got a solo track on Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and who The Source named in their list of 50 top lyricists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw7uhVtpI5I
Snoop Dogg x Norton Anti-Virus
This one isn’t a video or an ad, but rather a campaign. Snoop Dogg legitimately teamed up with Norton Anti-Virus to hold the “Hack Is Wack” contest, where contestants were to create the best 2-minute rap song about “viruses, phishing attacks, identity theft and other cybercrime.” The prize? A ticket to L.A. to see a Snoop Dogg concert. Yes, this really, really happened.
(Image: Financial Spots)
Warren G x AffirmXL
Dick pills. Warren G, west-coast rapper/producer and stepbrother to Dr. Dre, starred in a commercial for dick pills. The same Warren G who was nominated for two Grammy’s, and here he is sitting on the toilet in some random guy’s apartment, reading a newspaper and handing him Viagra knockoffs. And you bet your ass he makes a Regulate joke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLkOxdG6I2g
Bob Dylan x Victoria’s Secret
This one is less weird than the others, but way more creepy. Of all the people you wouldn’t want to see in a lingerie commercial, wrinkly old Bob Dylan is up there. His pouty/brooding expression rivals that of Jon Snow, but Snow is a) much more attractive than Dylan, and b) hardly ever surrounded by super models in their undies. Bob, you have no right to be all pouty, and you definitely have no place in this super creepy ad. He looks like a homeless man who wandered onto the shoot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsFrFQ-F64Y
Ozzy Osbourne x I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
30 seconds. That’s all this commercial is, and it’s changed my life. I have no words, so please, just watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMs7-MQb5as
I don’t know what’s better, the completely wooden line of, “Awh ah cahn’t tell the diffrence,” or the fact that he cracks an egg on a mini skull. This whole clip is so “…What the fuck?,” it’s better than most modern art pieces. I want this video to play at my funeral.
Image: Mental Floss
The video/music/game/everything else mashup that has been spawned over the last few years by the nebulous denizens that populate the internet can range from the genuinely imaginative to whatever the hell this diabolical stain on the conscience of mankind is.
Time Magazine reports that YouTube user and music mashup extraordinaire isthishowyougoviral has made an art of it, so far as one can, and his latest video has Sesame Street’s Bert and Ernie throwing some enviously strong rap skills at the rest of the rest of the neighbourhood with their peerless rendition of Warren G and Nate Dogg’s 1994 hip-hop hit Regulate. The video cuts together the song with Bert and Ernie going about their lives on Sesame Street in a way that makes it look like they’re ready to break out and become the hip-hop kings they were born to be.
isthishowyougotviral, or Adam Schleichkorn in non-internet parlance, elaborated, “This song honestly ended up being just as tough as my last one (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony‘s Crossroads), if not tougher. I almost bailed on it several times, but it was the most requested in the comments, and another one of the best rap songs ever, so I felt as if I had to give the people what they wanted.” See, the power of the internet can be used for good.
Schleichkorn is an old hat at this mashup game, already creating some supremely watchable Muppet mixes of the Beastie Boy’s So What’cha Want and Digital Underground The Humpy Dance, so it won’t be long before the interwebs will once again be graced with Schleichkorn’s refined, Frankenstein-like handiwork.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYD3gLCXXuU]
Image from the Independent
Words by Alex Osborne
As Reverend TaaaDow says in the intro: “It’s time once again to regulate… Touch your neighbour right now and say regulate.” That’s right; Warren G has just put out Regulate…G Funk Era Part II EP.
Those familiar with the ‘94 album Regulate…G Funk Era will be as ‘G’d’ up as me with this release, having finally arrived, a mere 21 years later. We’ve been missing the G Funk sound in hip hop lately, but now, it’s back. Four years on from Nate Dogg’s passing, the game is still yearning for a soulful baritone. Here, Warren G delivers and satisfies that lust. While the album is not an official homage, each track (after the intro) features the late, great Nate.
Speaking to Billboard last month, Warren said, “Artists like E-40, Too $hort, Young Jeezy, Bun B are vets of hip-hop. [They’re] artists that me and Nate loved.” Now, each name features on the release, which serves as a touching tribute to Nate, who had reportedly wanted to work with them before his untimely death in 2011.
At it’s essence, the album is a compilation of Nate Dogg that have been remastered by Warren G. Young Jeezy’s verse on Keep on Hustlin’, is the only actual shout out per se, and he’s listed among two of the greats, Tupac and Biggie.
According to the Warren G, fans “have been asking for years; ever since he passed away and even before he passed away, they wanted music from me and him.” And they won’t be disappointed. Second track Saturday immediately transports you back to 1994, with that familiar, chill, Californian summer sound. DJ Easy Dick (who you might know from Snoop Dogg’s Ain’t No Fun) contributes a short intro, and as soon as Nate’s voice fades in, you could swear he was still alive or you had an old CD in the stereo.
It’s an ambitious project, and admittedly it does seem to lose momentum by the last couple tracks, but Warren G’s raps are as clean and razor sharp as they always were. The only real downside to this EP is that it only lasts for five tracks, but it’s an enjoyable album and a great throwback to that west coast sound.
The timing of the release is interesting. While we all reel in the long-awaited release of Dr. Dre’s Compton, Warren G, Dre’s stepbrother, does what he does best: tremendous background work. He is a silent assassin, no warning, no hype just produces killer music and drops albums on his own time.
This EP is not to be missed by fans Warren G and for anyone missing the hook king Nate Dogg’s voice.