After my recent pledge I've been thinking about things I want to post and then lo-and-behold I got this in my email box. Actually I get this email daily. It is generated in-house by my company and keeps me alert to the buzz around the country. This is one for the WTF categories...read on and comment:

DAILY DOSE
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v3.008 - January 14, 2003
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So-Called Chip-Hop

Along with the rap music connection to Posse Pops (1), the line of ice cream bars from Planet Ice Cream Inc., which feature rapper Ice-T (né Tracy Marrow, often credited as Morrow) as their national spokesman, which boast social and educational benefits, and which are marketed to inner-city children, hip-hop culture is now also available in a convenient potato chip format. James Lindsay, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s East Falls section, created the rapidly growing food brand, which debuted in 1995. Lindsay recognized that “inner-city kids didn’t have a lot of snack foods they could relate to,” and he saw a “void in the marketplace that needed to be filled.” The line has since expanded to include numerous potato chip flavors, popcorn, and cheese curls.

Originally, the front of the one-ounce bag of Rap Snacks, which are all priced at 25-cents, featured a picture of “M.C. Potato,” a cartoon image of a rapping potato, wearing a baseball cap turned backwards. Similar to Posse Pops, Lindsay devised Rap Snacks with the publicized goal of “promoting positive messages to urban youth,” adding phrases such as “Stay in School,” “Money equals Education,” and “Respect your Elders” to the packages. The bags of the newer Rap Snacks popcorn flavors include a toll-free telephone number for anti-violence counselors.

After establishing his company, Lindsay decided to move on from “M.C. Potato” to real hip-hop artists. He entered into a partnership with Universal Records, and now Rap Snacks feature images of rap artists, both emerging and top-sellers, signed to the Universal family of labels. Along with the affirmative messages, consumers can have packages with illustrations that are perceived to be more meaningful to them, along with brief biographies of the musicians that are included. This form of cross-merchandising offers Universal Records another advertising venue for their artists, and the packages also list store locations where these artists’ compact discs can be purchased. The record company will supposedly rotate new hip-hop artists into the Rap Snacks product line each quarter.

Rap Snacks are primarily sold at bodegas, corner stores, and “mom-and-pop” convenience stores in metropolitan neighborhoods, including those in some of the country’s most underprivileged regions. They are widely available along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, and they can also be found in such cities as St. Louis, Memphis, Houston, and, most recently, Los Angeles. With approximately fifteen distributors in place, two million bags of Rap Snacks are reportedly sold each week.

The Rap Snacks products currently listed on the brand’s website include: Bar-B-Quing with my Honey (featuring Lil’ Romeo), Platinum Bar-B-Que (featuring Master P), Sweeties (featuring Ms. Toi), Back at the Ranch (featuring Bell Biv DeVoe), Cheezie Nacho (featuring Warren G), Salsa & Cheese (featuring Pretty Willie), Sour Cream & Dill (featuring Big Tymers), Red Hot Cheddar (featuring Mack 10), Hot Cheezie Popcorn, and Honey BBQ Popcorn. The website also features a small selection of essays written by Wise Intelligent, the lead vocalist of the critically acclaimed rap group, Poor Righteous Teachers. The site further includes a link to a message board that allows visitors to comment on the articles by the thought-provoking vocalist.

Following mentions in such diverse magazines as “Maxim,” “People,” “The Source,” and “XXL,” Rap Snacks’ Lindsay has been quoted as saying that he next hopes to conquer the suburban market, cynically, but in all probability correctly stating: “Suburban kids will buy whatever city kids think is cool.” He is also developing a line of clothing and accessories, such as backpacks, which feature the Rap Snacks packaging designs.

Rap Snacks are not alone in the snack food category. Two other brand names, Chumpies and Homegirls Potato Chips, target urban youth who are immersed in hip-hop culture. Both brands are made by King’s Potato Chips, who also manufacture Rap Snacks, for the Philadelphia-based company, It’s a Winner. The chips are made at King’s Bowmansville, Pennsylvania plant, intriguingly located amid Lancaster County’s Amish countryside. Each week, a reported 90,000 bags of Chumpies and Homegirls are sold in retail outlets in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and parts of New Jersey.

(1) (also see DAILY DOSE September 05, 2002 “Posse Pops”)

© 2003 DraftWorldwide. All rights reserved.

http://www.rapsnacks.com/ (The Rap Snacks website)
http://www.universalrecords.com/ (The Universal Records website)
http://www.exit7a.com/ (The Exit 7A Entertainment, Inc. website, featuring Poor Righteous Teachers)