Kanye West has revealed a classic Snoop Dogg performance he saw on television as a kid changed his life.
KMAZUR/WIREIMAGE
Ye took to Instagram on Sunday (September 11) to share an image of Snoop wearing a Tommy Hilfiger rugby shirt while performing on Saturday Night Live in 1994, explaining how much of an impact it had on him from a marketing perspective.
“Snoop wearing this Tommy Hilfiger rugby was the most impactful marketing moment of my young life,” Kanye wrote in the caption.
Snoop responded in the comments: “Love u king. Let’s make. A move. Call the play.”
The SNL appearance saw Snoop Dogg perform “Lodi Dodi” — his cover of Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s classic “La Di Da Di” — in a red, white and blue Tommy Hilfiger shirt, just months after the release of his debut album Doggystyle.
Originally a “preppy” brand, Tommy Hilfiger became an unlikely Hip Hop fashion staple in the ’90s thanks to Grand Puba namedropping the brand on Mary J. Blige’s “What’s the 411?”
But as Tommy Hilfiger’s brother and former VP of marketing, Andy, explained in a 2016 interview with Complex, it was Snoop’s SNL performance that boosted its mainstream popularity.
Hilfiger explained that he and Tommy met the Death Row rapper at a Grammy Awards after-party in 1994 and invited him to their showroom, where they hung out and gave him free clothes. Two weeks later, Snoop called him asking for more threads.
“He’s like, ‘I’m rehearsing for Saturday Night Live. Can you come to my hotel tonight?’ Hilfiger recalled. “It was pouring rain. I went to Hilfiger and I undressed the mannequins and then headed to the Hotel Macklowe at midnight. I brought him these new logos and these new rugbys.
“The next night, at about quarter to 12, Tommy calls and says, ‘Andy, turn on Saturday Night Live. Those guys we met, Snoop, they’re wearing my clothes.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. I forgot to tell you, I went to their hotel last night.’ He said, ‘Oh, my god.’
Tommy Jeans’ former director of marketing, Peter Paul, said the shirts were sold out by the next day.
“I went back to work on Monday, and our sales people from around the country for Hilfiger were like, ‘Did something happen because everybody wants more rugbys? Everybody wants more of our logo’d items,’ Andy said. “I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. Snoop Dogg was on Saturday Night Live.’ So, as much as [Grand] Puba made it cool on the streets, Snoop brought it to the national level.”
Paul added: “That was the shining moment. That’s when Tommy went from subculture to mainstream. We now knew the effect of product placement and the strength and influence Hilfiger had on the Hip Hop community.”
News
Ice Cube Unveils How “Boyz-n-the-Hood” got to Eazy-E
The birth of “Boyz-n-the-Hood” stands as a pivotal moment in Hip-Hop history, unfolding like a butterfly effect. Ice Cube, the mastermind behind the song, initially intended it for the New York City rap group Home Boys Only, signed to Ruthless…
50 Cent Says He Loves Eminem to Death but It Doesn’t Cloud His Judgement
50 Cent Says He Loves Eminem to Death but It Doesn’t Cloud His Judgement In an interview honoring “Get Rich Or Ԁie Tryin’s” 20th anniversary, 50 Cent discusses his experiences as a media mogul and rapper, attempts to make sense…
50 Cent Calls Out Jay-Z for Calling Eminem ‘The White Guy’
50 Cent Calls Out Jay-Z for Calling Eminem ‘The White Guy’ In the ever-evolving landscape of hip-hop, recent headlines have been stirred by none other than 50 Cent, who took to social media to call out Jay-Z for his seemingly…
Justin Bieber thinks Eminem “doesn’t understand” modern rap
Justin Bieber thinks Eminem “doesn’t understand” modern rap Justin Bieber is defending the rap artists of his age. The musician defended “the new generation of rap” using lyrics from Eminem’s 2018 song “The Ringer,” which he uploaded as a snapshot…
The Game Asserts That His Real Reason Behind Eminem Beef Stems from Upset with Dr. Dre
The Game Asserts That His Real Reason Behind Eminem Beef Stems from Upset with Dr. Dre Hip-hop feuds have been an integral part of the genre’s history, often fueled by personal grievances and underlying tensions. The recent revelation by The…
Snoop Dogg reveals he apologized to Eminem after feud: ‘I ain’t perfect’
Snoop Dogg reveals he apologized to Eminem after feud: ‘I ain’t perfect’ Snoop Dogg reveals he apologized to Eminem after feud: ‘I ain’t perfect’ According to Snoop Dogg, he apologized to Eminem in 2020 after their fight got out of hand. There…
End of content
No more pages to load