In honor of hip-hop’s 50th, popular soda brand Sprite has teamed up with hip-hop legends Nas and Rakim and rising stars Latto and GloRilla to launch a creative campaign honoring hip-hop’s past, present, and future. In addition to the campaign, Sprite is introducing a new flavor called Lymonade Legacy, along with exclusive merchandise and content. […]
It is no surprise that Jack Harlow is one of Hip-Hop’s brightest young stars. The Kentucky native rose to prominence in 2020 with his JetsonMade produced, hit single, “What’s Poppin.” The track was arguably the song of the Summer in 20202, which led to the release of his gold-certified debut album, Thats What They All Say. The album featured Lil Baby, Chris Brown Adam Levine, a posthumous Static Major and more.
The 23-year-old rapper is gearing up to hit the road for his now sold-out “Creme De La Creme Tour” this Fall. The tour is set to begin in Orlando on September 8th.
Before the road festivities begin, he is teaming up with Sprite for their latest, Live From The Label (LFTL) Concert Series.
Live From the Label is almost here. Go grab a @sprite and scan it to get tickets to my show on 8/18.
“When Sprite reached out, we jumped at the opportunity,” said the “Route 66” rapper. “The brand has a history of cool. I associate them in a positive and fly light, so I look forward to building with them.”
The LFTL Concert Series kicks off on July 29th with ATL rapper Latto, followed by Saweetie on August 12th. Jack Harlow will close out to series on August 18th for the grand finale.
“I love the confidence they (Latto and Saweetie) project,” he says in admiration of his fellow headliners. “They are extremely talented and I love seeing women succeed in our art form (of music). It’s a beautiful thing.”
The LFTL campaign will also shed light on upcoming artists. Jack Harlow will be joined by Ryan Trey. Harlow cites Bryson Tiller as the source for his discovery of Ryan’s music
“I’ve been familiar with him for a while, so I think it’s a dope opportunity to show my taste in music,” said Jack. “He has a great voice and ear for beats so I’m excited to see as he continues his career.”
Latto and Saweetie will be joined by ChloTheGod and Summer Valentine respectively.
All three LFTL headliners will perform at the venue where their first-ever performance took place. For Jack Harlow, he’s taking it back to ATL.
HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THE LIVESTREAM
Be sure to grab a Live From The Label Sprite Bottle and scan the QR code to get access to the live stream concert, exclusive merch and more.
Sprite has long aligned itself with Hip-Hop culture. As far back as 1986, Sprite was authentically tapping rap music and the culture surrounding it to cement its place in our lives. Back then, Kurtis Blow was king and he broke barriers in the “I Love the Sprite in You” campaign. That campaign also was supported by artists like LL Cool J and Kris Kross.
Who remembers when they scooped then fresh-faced Native Tongue members from A Tribe Called Quest in their optically overwhelming “Obey Your Thirst” Campaign of 1994 or tapped into the battle rap scene with showcasing the long-fought rivalry of two of Hip-Hop’s most epic figures, KRS1 and MC Shan, in 1996.
The “Obey Your Thirst” plug was explosive in the 90s and allowed many a rap fan to see their favorites like Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Nas and Grand Puba in spots that told them that the Coca-Cola company is looking at them; they see you and not just your dollar. All the way up to 2020, they have shared emcees like 2Pac, Missy Elliott, J. Cole, Drake, Rakim, Lil Yachty, Vince Staples, DRAM and Vic Mensa with the audience in a variety of ways. Everything from rap in commercials all the way to their lyrics appearing on soda cans in the most recent “Obey Your Verse” campaign, showed again… they see us.
But moving passed seeing us, the question becomes “Do they feel us?” or “Do they understand us?”
With the new Sprite Ginger collection, that might be a “hell, yeah.”
In February 2020, they launched this new pop with a twist of ginger, a stable flavor on-trend with the current market. In their roll-out, they still skewed urban, but this time they truly unpacked another layer of who and what Hip-Hop really is. They looked at the oldest element of the four that constitute Hip-Hop culture (at least according to the pioneers in the Zulu Nation, KRS1, and various others who were there from the beginning). They shifted the focus from the emcee and in this move are looking at the artist.
Art/Eyes (Graffiti), The Drum/Heart (The DJ), The Word/The Mind (The Rapper/Emcee/Lyricist), The Move (Dance) makes up all four core elements of the culture. And Sprite Ginger, with a segue as bold as its flavor, expanded its understanding of art by translating it into fashion connected the senses of taste and sight to not only launch their brand but launch the careers of 8 millennial/ homelander artists that they believe will shift the world in their “Thirst for Yours” campaign.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 12: A view of signage on display at the Sprite Ginger Collection drop event and limited-edition fashion collection debut at Extra Butter NYC on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Sprite®)
In the spirit of reinvention, Sprite tapped this diverse group of up-and-coming creators from across the creative spectrum—fashion, art, photography and more—to add a hit of something new to their already impressive body of work. Their visions were brought to life through the “Ginger Collection”, the brand’s first creative capsule collection.
In addition to these artists selected by the company, veteran streetwear designer Jeff Staples crowdsourced the final addition to the “Ginger Collection” team from amongst his 250,000+ Instagram followers. From more than 25,000 submissions, Staple picked graphic designer and multimedia artist Bluboy.
Standing on the shoulders of other Hip-Hop artists, this ogdoad stepped up to deliver visuals (in the various mediums) to express the new flavor in their own lens. To do this, they had the mentorship of Jeff Staples and some of Sprite’s other cultural partners. Jeff gathered with the group and helped them move their dream to reality, giving them some life lessons on what it means to be an artist, that works with brands and does not compromise their vision, integrity, and the art they create.
“Sprite Ginger is all about adding a hit of something fresh and new, so as the first new product to launch under the ‘Thirst for Yours’ ethos, we used this concept of reinvention as creative inspiration for the collaboration,” explains Sam Beresford, senior manager, integrated marketing communications (IMC), Sprite. “‘Thirst for Yours’ is all about inspiring the Hip-Hop tastemakers of tomorrow to do more and dream bigger by ‘putting them on’, so we offered this group of incredibly talented young creatives a wide-open runway to bring their vision and voice to life.”
The collection includes graphic t-shirts, a custom cut-and-sew hoodie, a skateboard deck, accessories, a vinyl figurine and more. Sprite Ginger and the “Ginger Collection” debuted at a special media and influencer event at Extra Butter NYC, a premier streetwear boutique on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 12: Tiffany Reid, Blu boy, Barbara Rego, Elan Watson and Jeff Staple discuss the importance of reinvention during a panel discussion at the Sprite Ginger Collection drop event at Extra Butter NYC on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Sprite®)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 12: Harlem’s own Dave East performs at the Sprite Ginger drop event and limited-edition fashion collection debut at Extra Butter NYC on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images for Sprite®)
To keep the vibe going throughout the year, Sprite will be hosting a series of “re-workshops” at Extra Butter, where emerging creative talent will share their expertise with participants from creative arts nonprofit organizations, Art Start, and fans of the re-workshop hosts.
The launch of Sprite Ginger and the “Ginger Collection” borrow a page from the streetwear playbook by coming to life via a “drop,” which is also how some of the most culturally resonant albums, movies, and sneakers build intrigue and interest before making their seemingly-out-of-the-blue debuts.
Sprite will share the story of the “Ginger Collection” creators in the coming weeks on the brand’s social channels, and select “Ginger Collection” items will be given away to members of the brand’s community as part of this storytelling.
“Our audience expects and appreciates the art of the ‘drop’… it’s a key part of how things are introduced in the Hip-Hop world, and core to how culture moves and works today,” Beresford said. “Given Sprite’s deep Hip-Hop credentials, we saw an opportunity to be the first beverage brand to ‘drop’ its latest release.”
Sprite is celebrating HIp-Hop tastemakers, including the recent launch of the Thirst For Yours brand platform, which came earlier this year.
Over the years, Sprite has embraced itself in the complete culture of Hip-Hop, such as the Now More Than Ever campaign with Kurtis Blow in 1986, marking one of the first mainstream campaigns to contain Hip-Hop. The efforts of Hip-Hop and Sprite also continued with the Obey Your Thirst campaigns which featured culture icons like A Tribe Called Quest, Missy Elliott, Rakim and Drake.
Now, Sprite is focusing on rising talent in the Thirst For Yours campaign, which allows for new talent to showcase their efforts in television ads and more. Included in Thirst For Yours are Atlanta rapper Kodie Shane and rising designer Seth Giscombe.
“Sprite has always been incredibly focused on putting our community at the forefront. ‘Obey Your Thirst’ launched in 1994, and is core to our brand DNA. At the time, hip-hop was very much in the background, and served as a rebellious force in music,” said Stefan Miller, Sprite’s Senior Brand Manager. “We looked at our audience and at what the genre was doing as a whole, and saw the importance of empowering our audience and giving them a voice. As we look towards the next 25 years, ‘Thirst For Yours’ is the next evolution of us championing our audience. ‘Thirst For Yours’ leverages what our audience is thirsting for, and gives them the tools to make their mark, showing them that they can make an impact.”
“For Sprite, it’s all about being a leader within our space. We’re not content to just rest on laurels, and we want to make sure we are consistently growing to achieve the ambition we have for the brand,” added Aaliyah Shafiq, Group Director, Sprite.
Adding fans into the fold of selecting the next generation of creators, Sprite has launched Sprite Way, a community-based platform and playlist that will bring artists through fan submissions. One of the talents to embrace the opportunity is Bino who received a performance slot at the BET Experience in Los Angeles.
“Being featured on Sprite Way means this was meant for me, is my purpose, and it’s my time. All my sacrifices and hard work are making my vision come to life. To me, it means someone is always watching keep your faith,” Bino said.
Spotify in partnership with Sprite is looking to reboot its original video content, and the company hopes its newest Hip-Hop inspired series The Break will lead that charge.
Per a press release, Spotify says the series “explores the economy of Hip-Hop, addressing the impact of technological and social change within the music industry and the resulting ways Hip-Hop artists get their big break.”
No longer featured in its own hub like previous Spotify original programming, the videos will live inside RapCaviar and Spotify’s other signature playlists being included with songs rather than other videos. The first episode which launched already on November 12 features rising star Tierra Whack speaking on how important her crew has been while she crafted her sound and style. She also gave props to Kenete Simms who serves as her Creative Manager and mentor in the episode for allowing her to record for free in his studio allowing her to experiment with her sound.
Other episodes will include fellow up-and-coming artists LVRN and Taz Taylor.
Alongside The Break, Spotify also launched a six-episode series companion series called Sprite Breakthroughs which puts the spotlights on the crew behind the artists. Sprite and Hip-Hop have been synonymous with each other for years thanks to the Obey Your Thirst campaign which featured Nas and A Tribe Called Quest just to name a few. So this union between the two brands makes perfect sense.
You can check out the trailer for Sprite Breakthroughs below.
#ThirstForYours
