Auto manufacturers are no strangers to getting shout outs from hip hop artists. It seems as though fancy whips and hip hop go together like apples and cheese. Nice cars are a part of hip hop culture, although traditionally due to the controversial nature of the music genre, auto manufacturers tend to shy away from acknowledging this. Not Lamborghini, it seems.
Kanye West and his label of G.O.O.D Music artists have released the first single from their upcoming album. The single is titled “Mercy”. Despite the spelling of the title, the song name is meant to reflect the name of one of Lamborgini’s outgoing models, the Murcielago. Though the entire song doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the super car, it is mentioned along with the Lamborghini name several times throughout the song in an endearing manner.
The song is largely becoming a hit cracking the top 20 on the charts. It was enough to not only grab the attention of Lamborghini, but for them to comment as well. Although Lamborghini quite starkly pointed out that they don’t need a celebrity like Kanye West to push their product in order to generate sales since the product and brand sells itself, they still took the opportunity to acknowledge West:
“We appreciate the publicity,” said a Lamborghini USA spokesperson. “But more importantly, we hope Kanye has the opportunity to fully experience the exhilarating performance and technical innovations found in all Lamborghinis.”
Indeed he does. As the photo above shows, he and girlfriend Kim Kardashian have experienced Lamborghini’s offerings before. In fact, Kim Kardashian is rumoured to have bought Kanye the Murcielago’s successor, the Aventador, for his 35th birthday.
The Lambo rep went on to say that “Most owners tell us they’ve had a lifelong love affair with the brand before they actually purchased their Lamborghini. This is another example of the use of a Lamborghini in various art forms. Communicating success, individuality and creativity are hallmarks of the brand.”
Well at least it’s clear why Lamborghini thought they should respond. Free PR opportunity!
West was recently criticized by fellow gear heads for using a Gallardo instead of the Murcielago in the music video for ‘Mercy’ – something only we would notice!
[Sohh.com]