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During the 2000s, the energy drink craze had swept across the country. After the ubiquity and tremendous success of drinks like Red Bull and Monster Energy, an emerging energy drink market was flooded with a wave of products looking to capitalize on the brief, sugary highs these drinks promised to consumers.

It's rare that hip-hop's entrepreneurial spirit would let an investment opportunity go by like this. The energy of hip-hop and caffeine-induced physical and mental stimulation of energy drinks seemed to make for natural partners. What else would mix perfectly with a Circo vodka in the club than the fruity taste of energy drinks?

Rap wanted a piece of the action and soon a wave of rapper-themed energy drinks hit the market, too. Starting with Nelly's controversial Pimp Juice in 2003, it seemed as if you couldn't enter a supermarket or bodega in the country without finding a product endorsed by your favorite rapper. Although, many of the products failed to catch on or were seen as novelties, many of them exist today and still live on.

We at XXL have compiled a list of our favorite energy drinks of the era for you to fondly remember and to potentially purchase on eBay for a reasonable price.

"Street King Energy Freestyles," Late 2011
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50 Cent – Street King

As an already successful energy drink impresario after his partnership with Vitamin Water netted a 4.1 billion dollar pay day from Coca-Cola, 50 Cent released his latest venture, Street King Energy, in 2011 in an attempt to re-capture the fruit-flavored lighting in a bottle.  Street King is sold in 2.5 oz shots and reportedly contains enough caffeine to be comparable to a cup of coffee. In 2012, the company re-branded itself as “SK Energy” and has been endorsed by celebrities and athletes like Wes Welker, J.R. Smith and Erin Andrews.

Nelly
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Nelly – Pimp Juice

Back in 2003, Nelly was on top of the rap world after the release of his mega-selling album, Nellyville. To diversify his portfolio, Nelly introduced to the world, his latest creation, Pimp Juice, a carbonated energy drink to American markets. Named after one of his own songs,  Pimp Juice went on to be boycotted by African-American community groups for glorifying prostitution and promoting negative stereotypes about  African-Americans.

Kanye West - "We Don't Care"
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Kanye West - Guru

In 2009, Kanye West and Guru Energy Drinks announced a partnership with new energy drink for the company.  The product was to be “100%  natural and organic” according to the company’s press releases. Kanye was to help "create" an energy that was going to fit with his personal style.

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Lil Jon - Crunk!!!

Crunk music is known for its aggression and the infection high-energy of it’s performers. Thus, it makes sense that Lil Jon, one of the most recognizable figures in the genre, would make his way into the world of energy drinks. Crunk!!! energy drink was created in 2004 and became one of the most popular hip-hop themed energy drinks. Over the years, hip-hop artists such as David Banner, Pitbull and Paul Wall would go on to endorse the drink.

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Mac Dre – Thizz Juice/ Mac Dre Feel'N Myself

Energy drinks and the Bay Area’s hyphy music seems like a logical extension of one another. Thus, there is a certain amount of logic that hyphy innovator, the late Mac Dre, would inspire several hyphy-themed energy drinks over the years. Brands like “Thizz Juice” and “Mac Dre Feel’N Myself” popped up in and around Dre’s hometown of Vallejo sporting his image since his deathin 2004.

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Ice-T – Liquid Ice

In 2008, Ice- T jumped into the fray with the release of his energy drink, Liquid Ice. The drink was berry-flavored energy drink that consumers said tasted like a “tart candy.”

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Russell Simmons – Def Con 3

Russell Simmons has always been one of hip-hop’s most forward-thinking entrepreneurs in history. Whether, it be his forays into fashion, television or magazines, Simmons has been constantly looking to diversify his brand with new products he can sell to the public. In the 2000s, he entered the energy drink hustle with the release of Def Con 3. Built as an “energy soda,” the drink's memorable slogan was “Pop it, Gulp it, Feel it… Energy, I worship thee.”

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