CreativeDirectors
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The past few years have seen an increase in brands tapping musicians, actors and designers for collaborations. The collaborations have gone beyond the usual “celebrity brand ambassador” or “celebrity spokesperson” roles with these stars now being appointed Creative Director for brands. The exact responsibilities of a Creative Director aren’t clearly defined, but they’re mostly responsible for the creative vision of a company. Jay-Z, T.I., Pharrell and most recently Joey Bada$$ have all been scouted by brands to be their Creative Directors. As we expect more of these creative partnerships to be announced in 2013, XXL takes a look at 12 rappers that could’ve been named Creative Directors.—Kai Acevedo

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Snoop Dogg for Converse 

The Chuck Taylor has been a permanent fixture in West coast Hip Hop since the 80s, but in the early 90s it had lost its popularity in other regions with the introduction of sneakers like Nike’s Air Force One, Adidas’ Shell-Toe, and anything with Jumpman logo. That all could’ve changed if a young MC named Snoop Doggy Dogg had become a part to Converse’s creative vision. Snoop’s ability to sell a product was solidified when he appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in a Tommy Hilfiger sweater and the sweater sold out that next day.

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Biggie for Coogi 

Most Hip Hop fans’ introduction to Coogi sweaters (aside from Cliff Huxtable’s swag) was the Notorious B.I.G. Biggie graced magazine covers with Coogis on, wore Coogis during performances and rapped about staying Coogi down to the socks. The Australian based brand could’ve dove further into the emerging Hip Hop market with Big on their team.

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LL Cool J for Fubu 

We all remember that Gap commercial don’t we? The one featuring LL for the Gap’s “How Easy is This?” campaign where LL not only wore a Fubu hat, but also famously rapped “for us, by us / on the low”? Yeah, that one. Within a year Fubu’s revenue increased from $40 million to $350 million.

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Puff Daddy for Tommy Hilfiger 

Tommy Hilfiger was one of the first clothing brands to openly embrace Hip Hop, featuring rappers in ads and runway shows. For 1997’s MTV Video Music Awards Puff Daddy commissioned Hilfiger to design the shiny suit Puff wore. At the time of Hilfiger’s dominance in fashion there was no one bigger in Hip Hop than Puff Daddy. The pairing of the two could’ve been one for the history books. We’ve seen what the Bad Boy general has done with Ciroc.

 

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Jay-Z for Iceberg 

The story goes that Hov and Dame Dash approached Iceberg for a possible endorsement deal. Iceberg passed on the opportunity. Jay and Dame then created Rocawear, which eventually went on to do more than $700 million in annual sales. Iceberg lost its grip in the Urban market.

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Cam’Ron for Jeff Hamilton 

Kanye once said Killa Cam was just as important to fashion as Karl Lagerfeld. Though that’s up for debate, two things that can’t be disputed are Cam’s love for Jeff Hamilton’s sports-inspired jackets and his influence on Hip Hop. He rapped about Jeff Hamiltons in “Get Em’ Girls” and who could forget how he had “the whole New York wearing pink.” Just imagine what he could have done for them bright jackets.

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Missy Elliott for Adidas

The old-school Hip Hop Missy Elliott grew up on heavily influenced every aspect of her fourth studio album, “Under Construction” and her style reflected it. Her rocking gold rope chains, Kangol hats, Adidas tracksuits and Shell Toes eventually lead to Missy teaming with Adidas for her Respect Me sportswear line, but someone as creative, innovative and influential as Missy could have played a much larger role for the Adidas brand.

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Lil Jon for Oakley

In 2004, Oakley, the maker of performance eyewear partnered with King of Crunk on a line of sunglasses. At the time Jon was one of the hottest things in music. His hits for Usher, Ciara and Petey Pablo were tearing up the charts, he had the world chanting “yeah!” and “ok!” and he was simply everywhere. Having a taste-master like Jon involved in the creative process could’ve helped Oakley understand the appeal of the world of Crunk, Southern rap, pimp cups and grills.

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T-Pain for Antares Audio Technologies (Creator of Auto-Tune)

After T-Pain landed on the scene in 2005, the Tallahassee singer’s weapon of choice, Auto-Tune experienced resurgence. Everyone from Kanye to Lil’ Wayne began using it. More recently Future and Meek Mill have relied on it. Not even Jay-Z could bring death to Auto-Tune and T-Pain has everything to do with it.
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Drake for Moscato 

As the Toronto rapper’s stock rose, so did sales of the wine. Enough said.

 

Chris Brown (Tyga, Big Sean) for TI$A/Starter Jackets 

The fitted hat has officially taken a backseat to the snapback. Many may claim to be the cause of the switch in headgear standard, but Chris Brown along with Tyga and Big Sean are due much of the credit. Pairing the adjustable caps with matching Starter jackets, they were some of the first and most consistent celebrities sporting the retro look. With the recent announcement of the return of the Starter jackets Starter could only benefit from having someone as extremely creative as Chris Brown be a part of their creative family.

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Nicki Minaj for Barbie 

Nicki’s dream came true when Mattel made a one-of-a-kind Minaj-inspired Barbie doll. The doll, which was auctioned off for charity, could have been the beginning of something bigger. Nicki’s crossover potential was realized with the massive success of her debut Pink Friday. It lead to a tour with Britney Spears, her being a judge on “American Idol,” an apparel line and deals with OPI nail polish, MAC Cosmetics, and Pepsi.

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