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The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy
The business marketing genius at the forefront of today's entertainment marketing revolution helps corporate America get hip to today's new consumer-the tan generation - by learning from hip-hop and youth culture.
"He is the conduit between corporate America and rap and the streets-he speaks both languages." -Jay-Z
"It's amazing to see the direct impact that black music, videos and the internet have had on culture. I've seen so many people race to the top of pop stardom using the everyday mannerisms of the hood in a pop setting. It's time to embrace this phenomenon because it ain't going nowhere!" -Kanye West
When Fortune 500 companies need to reenergize or reinvent a lagging brand, they call Steve Stoute. In addition to marrying cultural icons with blue-chip marketers (Beyoncé for Tommy Hilfiger's True Star fragrance, and Justin Timberlake for "lovin' it" at McDonald's), Stoute has helped identify and activate a new generation of consumers. He traces how the "tanning" phenomenon raised a generation of black, Hispanic, white, and Asian consumers who have the same "mental complexion" based on shared experiences and values. This consumer is a mindset-not a race or age-that responds to shared values and experiences, rather than the increasingly irrelevant demographic boxes that have been used to a fault by corporate America. And Stoute believes there is a language gap that must be bridged in order to engage the most powerful market force in the history of commerce.
The Tanning of America provides that very translation guide. Drawing from his company's case studies, as well as from extensive interviews with leading figures of multiple fields, Stoute presents an insider's view of how the transcendent power of popular culture is helping reinvigorate and revitalize the American dream. He shows how he bridges the worlds of pop culture, brand consulting, and marketing in his turnkey campaigns offers keen insight into other successful campaigns-including the election of Barack Obama-to illustrate the power of the tan generation, and how to connect with it while staying true to your core brand.
"He is the conduit between corporate America and rap and the streets-he speaks both languages." -Jay-Z
"It's amazing to see the direct impact that black music, videos and the internet have had on culture. I've seen so many people race to the top of pop stardom using the everyday mannerisms of the hood in a pop setting. It's time to embrace this phenomenon because it ain't going nowhere!" -Kanye West
When Fortune 500 companies need to reenergize or reinvent a lagging brand, they call Steve Stoute. In addition to marrying cultural icons with blue-chip marketers (Beyoncé for Tommy Hilfiger's True Star fragrance, and Justin Timberlake for "lovin' it" at McDonald's), Stoute has helped identify and activate a new generation of consumers. He traces how the "tanning" phenomenon raised a generation of black, Hispanic, white, and Asian consumers who have the same "mental complexion" based on shared experiences and values. This consumer is a mindset-not a race or age-that responds to shared values and experiences, rather than the increasingly irrelevant demographic boxes that have been used to a fault by corporate America. And Stoute believes there is a language gap that must be bridged in order to engage the most powerful market force in the history of commerce.
The Tanning of America provides that very translation guide. Drawing from his company's case studies, as well as from extensive interviews with leading figures of multiple fields, Stoute presents an insider's view of how the transcendent power of popular culture is helping reinvigorate and revitalize the American dream. He shows how he bridges the worlds of pop culture, brand consulting, and marketing in his turnkey campaigns offers keen insight into other successful campaigns-including the election of Barack Obama-to illustrate the power of the tan generation, and how to connect with it while staying true to your core brand.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 9, 2011
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1245 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
March 27, 2012
I have a lot of respect for the Commissioner, but this is one of the most poorly written non-fiction books I have ever read. Coming from someone who supposedly witnessed so much of hip-hop's evolution first hand, it's frustrating to hear how canned and generic his retelling of history is. From a marketing perspective, he brings up some broad ideas but never effectively illustrates them with examples. In the end, he comes off as a self-aggrandizing simpleton who has stumbled into success by having good relationships with famous people. I'm sure this is not actually true, but his complete failure to take his points beyond basic "we are the world" sentimentality makes it difficult to say for sure that there is any deeper understanding happening in his mind. Part hip-hop history, part memoir, part marketing manual, part cultural analysis, "The Tanning of America" fails to deliver on any of these counts.
November 11, 2011
After Pharrell recommended The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy on Twitter, I instantly knew that this book would be would be authentic, professional, and fascinating. Steve Stoute, the founder of Translation Consultation and Brand Imaging, specializes in connecting corporate brands with the community of hip-hop, which is refers to as “urban.” However, he advocates about how it is more than using the popularity of different artists, where he introduces “tanning.”
It is “the catalytic force majeure that went beyond musical boundaries and into the psyche of young America – blurring cultural and demographic lines so permanently that it laid the foundation for a transformation.”
Throughout the novel, Stoute connects the growing success of hip-hop to commercialization. He wrote about one of Sugar Hill’s first and main successes, the record “Rappers Delight,” along with the famous 1986 concert in Madison Square Garden, which Run-DMC’s “My Adidas,” went viral; it was the first time Adidas’ German executives heard their song, and signed a contract with them. By the early 1990s, advertisers and large companies saw the effect of hip-hop; it was credible and marketable. However, they needed translators, those who could expose what would be “in” and could potentially sell. Stoute went from working in the music industry to advertisement; he realized that the “tanning” effect was affecting every part of the consumer culture.
I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone curious about urban and youth marketing. However, I felt some elements of the book were lengthy; I’m not surprised because I am just a 16-year-old student, whose not quite sure what she wants to do in life. At times, I felt like I was being educated in some college-type course about business, but Stoute incorporated a lot of his personal experiences, along with many hip-hop facts throughout history.
This book was very informative; as an artist, it has affected my mind on marketing and entrepreneurship. It was also inspiring; Stoute was not afraid of stating that he did not complete college during the beginning of the novel. An automatic assumption or judgment would be negative, but Stoute used his street-knowledge to build his own career. He, not only affected the music industry, but also predisposed the advertising field, which allowed him to create his own agency. He popularized hip-hop even more and proved that it is more than just a music genre; it’s “tanning.” The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy was an unbelievable and engaging back-story; it is by far one of the greatest novels for hip-hop literature.
It is “the catalytic force majeure that went beyond musical boundaries and into the psyche of young America – blurring cultural and demographic lines so permanently that it laid the foundation for a transformation.”
Throughout the novel, Stoute connects the growing success of hip-hop to commercialization. He wrote about one of Sugar Hill’s first and main successes, the record “Rappers Delight,” along with the famous 1986 concert in Madison Square Garden, which Run-DMC’s “My Adidas,” went viral; it was the first time Adidas’ German executives heard their song, and signed a contract with them. By the early 1990s, advertisers and large companies saw the effect of hip-hop; it was credible and marketable. However, they needed translators, those who could expose what would be “in” and could potentially sell. Stoute went from working in the music industry to advertisement; he realized that the “tanning” effect was affecting every part of the consumer culture.
I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone curious about urban and youth marketing. However, I felt some elements of the book were lengthy; I’m not surprised because I am just a 16-year-old student, whose not quite sure what she wants to do in life. At times, I felt like I was being educated in some college-type course about business, but Stoute incorporated a lot of his personal experiences, along with many hip-hop facts throughout history.
This book was very informative; as an artist, it has affected my mind on marketing and entrepreneurship. It was also inspiring; Stoute was not afraid of stating that he did not complete college during the beginning of the novel. An automatic assumption or judgment would be negative, but Stoute used his street-knowledge to build his own career. He, not only affected the music industry, but also predisposed the advertising field, which allowed him to create his own agency. He popularized hip-hop even more and proved that it is more than just a music genre; it’s “tanning.” The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy was an unbelievable and engaging back-story; it is by far one of the greatest novels for hip-hop literature.
June 5, 2013
About 75 pages into this book I realized that I had been expecting something much different than what I was actually getting from Stoute. I had very high hopes for this book and was hoping for more reflection upon hip-hop's relationship with our culture rather than simply what it has caused us to buy. After reworking my expectations for the book I was able to take it for what it was and found it to be a pleasant and interesting read.
My main issues with the book were that it sometimes seemed like all I was getting was Stoute's resume and felt that much of the book had been written to be used as his portfolio of work. A lot of this book's main points didn't seem all that earth shattering. I think much of what Stoute said could be summarized by saying that people buy into trends celebrities portray as cool (not surprising). Personally I think that because hip-hop is such an appealing genre and there are and have been artists making really good music, it was just a matter of time before people accepted what they are wearing or the lifestyle they are portraying as normal. Another thing that did bother me throughout the book was the term "tanning". I'm not entirely sure why the term bothered me, but coming from such a savvy ad man I was surprised that the main catch phrase of the book didn't fit for me. I'm not entirely sure why, but it might just be as simple as being a white guy who when thinking about tanning thinks first about its prerequisite of a sunburn and the ever looming follow up, skin cancer! All that being said this book was interesting enough. It did make me thankful to live in a time that "tanning" has become possible and people of all backgrounds can enjoy great music from supremely cool artists (even if they are secretly always trying to sell me something).
My main issues with the book were that it sometimes seemed like all I was getting was Stoute's resume and felt that much of the book had been written to be used as his portfolio of work. A lot of this book's main points didn't seem all that earth shattering. I think much of what Stoute said could be summarized by saying that people buy into trends celebrities portray as cool (not surprising). Personally I think that because hip-hop is such an appealing genre and there are and have been artists making really good music, it was just a matter of time before people accepted what they are wearing or the lifestyle they are portraying as normal. Another thing that did bother me throughout the book was the term "tanning". I'm not entirely sure why the term bothered me, but coming from such a savvy ad man I was surprised that the main catch phrase of the book didn't fit for me. I'm not entirely sure why, but it might just be as simple as being a white guy who when thinking about tanning thinks first about its prerequisite of a sunburn and the ever looming follow up, skin cancer! All that being said this book was interesting enough. It did make me thankful to live in a time that "tanning" has become possible and people of all backgrounds can enjoy great music from supremely cool artists (even if they are secretly always trying to sell me something).
June 12, 2012
Wasn't sure at first but music & marketing expert, Steve Stoute's book on the lessons corporate and even political America can learn from the US evolution to a more 'poly-ethnic' cultural society is well worth your time.
Stoute's background in hip-hop lends real credibility when he outlines how that music and it's surrounding culture has been instrumental in that evolution, a process he calls 'tanning.' Even more impressive is Stoute's grasp of marketing and advertising thinking, especially for someone coming from a music industry background. It's little wonder he has worked with so many blue chip, top-tier brands advising on their urban and youth marketing strategies.
Early parts of the book dragged and felt overly-long and some bits could have been edited a little better, but by mid-way, he was connecting the dots and drawing together how the themes & ideas he'd laid out fit into his vision of how brands should be preparing for these changes.
I might have liked this a little better if he'd gone into more depth with some of the case studies of campaigns and projects he'd worked on, but the book isn't really that kind of book. On the other hand, if you're looking for a primer on youth marketing that understands the modern realities of this new America, I'm not sure you could do much better than this book right now.
Stoute's background in hip-hop lends real credibility when he outlines how that music and it's surrounding culture has been instrumental in that evolution, a process he calls 'tanning.' Even more impressive is Stoute's grasp of marketing and advertising thinking, especially for someone coming from a music industry background. It's little wonder he has worked with so many blue chip, top-tier brands advising on their urban and youth marketing strategies.
Early parts of the book dragged and felt overly-long and some bits could have been edited a little better, but by mid-way, he was connecting the dots and drawing together how the themes & ideas he'd laid out fit into his vision of how brands should be preparing for these changes.
I might have liked this a little better if he'd gone into more depth with some of the case studies of campaigns and projects he'd worked on, but the book isn't really that kind of book. On the other hand, if you're looking for a primer on youth marketing that understands the modern realities of this new America, I'm not sure you could do much better than this book right now.
March 21, 2022
Much more aware of how powerful the advertising world is in influencing the music we create and listen to!
February 25, 2021
Stoute brings consumers into the board rooms, giving us a glimpse on how deals are made between corporations and celebrities.
He highlights the global impact hip hop made, and how these products would connect with purchaser ie; Allen Iverson and Jadakiss Reebok commercial due to its authenticity, and penchant for cool. His focus throughout the book remains on hip hop resonating with the Inner city and suburban youth; having a billion dollar purchasing effect globally.
What I found captivating is that it took some one from the culture to connect these dots. Oftentimes White corporates could not understand or foresee hip hop’s purchasing force, but Stoute could, being a participant of the culture.
“Tanning of America,” is a modern classic on branding, marketing, and tells the Inside story of hip hop’s development into the merchant of cool.
He highlights the global impact hip hop made, and how these products would connect with purchaser ie; Allen Iverson and Jadakiss Reebok commercial due to its authenticity, and penchant for cool. His focus throughout the book remains on hip hop resonating with the Inner city and suburban youth; having a billion dollar purchasing effect globally.
What I found captivating is that it took some one from the culture to connect these dots. Oftentimes White corporates could not understand or foresee hip hop’s purchasing force, but Stoute could, being a participant of the culture.
“Tanning of America,” is a modern classic on branding, marketing, and tells the Inside story of hip hop’s development into the merchant of cool.
March 14, 2012
Steve Stoute, founder and CEO Translation Consulting & Brand Imaging, is one of the most credible sources to discuss tanning. He has a diverse background in the music industry, successful at brand marketing, and is in tune to the new generation of consumers. Steve Stoute was also inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement. His clients include McDonald's, State Farm, Target, Jay-Z and Reebok, Lady Gaga and MAC Cosmetics. He is also the managing director and CEO of popular hair and body care line Carol's Daughter. Enough receipts? Yes.
TOA is an informative must-read for entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, and established companies who want to understand how to appeal to today's consumers. It's also an interesting read for hip-hop lovers and marketing gurus. I learned a lot of tips that will help improve my own brand, as well as enjoy an interview with Eminem, stories of Jay-Z and Run D.M.C., and the history of hip-hop. This book is a cost-effective lesson!
Visit www.tanningofamerica.com for more info.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
TOA is an informative must-read for entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, and established companies who want to understand how to appeal to today's consumers. It's also an interesting read for hip-hop lovers and marketing gurus. I learned a lot of tips that will help improve my own brand, as well as enjoy an interview with Eminem, stories of Jay-Z and Run D.M.C., and the history of hip-hop. This book is a cost-effective lesson!
Visit www.tanningofamerica.com for more info.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
July 1, 2018
Steve Stoute believes that great marketing must connect with and converse with culture, and that brands that fail to maintain a dialog with urban culture in particular are doomed to be uncool and unsuccessful. This book contains a few excellent case studies of brands that have managed to do that successfully, including Reebok, Sean Jean, Adidas, Jeep, and Apple's iPod. It also discusses brands that failed to do it, including the Dell and Sony MP3 players, Gap, and others.
Three stars because I agree with the Amazon reviewer who wrote, "I thought [the book] lacked focus - was it a history of hip hop? Was it Steve's memoir? Was it a guide to incorporate tanning into your business model? The book gets SO close to being each of these, but follows through on none. Disappointing in that regard, but still full of interesting facts and anecdotes on our culture."
Also, there was just a little too much self-promotion, both of Steve himself, and also of his agency. The smell of self-interest rather than ready interest made me question the author's intent and editorial judgment.
Three stars because I agree with the Amazon reviewer who wrote, "I thought [the book] lacked focus - was it a history of hip hop? Was it Steve's memoir? Was it a guide to incorporate tanning into your business model? The book gets SO close to being each of these, but follows through on none. Disappointing in that regard, but still full of interesting facts and anecdotes on our culture."
Also, there was just a little too much self-promotion, both of Steve himself, and also of his agency. The smell of self-interest rather than ready interest made me question the author's intent and editorial judgment.
March 9, 2014
I'd like to thank Steve Stoute for writing what has been plain to me for so long. Hip hop has altered the mental landscape of this country, and everywhere else in the world that has been touched by it. More importantly, the way African Americans (specifically speaking about those of us descendants of African slaves in the USA) have influenced our country, by just being ourselves. No one wants to be us, but everyone wants to be like us. Every art form we've created has been absorbed into mass culture with minimal credit given to the creators. Thank you for giving credit, where credit is due.
October 28, 2011
Definitely a business book at times, the author does a great job integrating history & personal experiences to show what he calls "tanning" (roughly the breakdown of race as a qualifier, replaced by culture). An interesting read, it puts a lot into perspective & provides a guideline for ad execs & marketers going after the millenials (like myself) who grew up with hip hop in the air and less awareness of race as a defining boundary marker.
March 2, 2015
Not what I expected.. As a fan of Steve Stoute I've watched most of his interviews online and respected his perspective on things but this book seem very "general" to me. Maybe it's me, read it and tell me what you think.
March 26, 2016
It's rare, I write a review for a book even rarer I put a complete co-sign on something. This book was a pleasure to read Start to Finish. Highly recommend it.
April 4, 2019
Did not finish.
June 1, 2020
The Tanning of America isn't a true history of Hip-Hop, so don't expect him to go in depth. But Steve Stoute does introduce historical players who most novice readers of the topic probably don't know about (Fab Five Freddy, Influential DJ's, and emerging artists of the 80's and early 90's).
The Tanning of America explains exactly what the title states: The taking of multiple colors, initially separated, coming together to create one color, Tan. From art, to advertisement, to overall awareness, the book highlights key moments in time/people who have had (in the authors POV) the biggest impact on todays culture and why Hip-Hop culture is the essential driver of the modern economy. Using the point that American pop culture is the United States biggest export.
Stout provides many anecdotes that are hard to argue with. Marketing campaigns he was involved with like Reeboks resurgence, Sprite, McDonalds, Apple's Itunes, Cadillac...all show the before and after affect (stock price before and after) that authenticity, relevant cultural messaging, and hip-hop played and still plays in creating and maintaining a COOL and TRUSTED brand.
A few of my favorite quotes:
On the six degrees of separation between people-"There are really more like two. What is the separation?. The difference is between those who aspire and those who don't"
"Cool isn't what you have, It's where you got it"
"The Job of the translator, as a rule in the new economy, is to find the sweet spot between the brand's core value and the cultural cues"
On the code of Ethics that hip-hop has given- "The power to change in order to grow" Explaining why Jay Z wrote the song "Change Clothes" and how it was relevant for moving hip-hop and brands forward.
Great book. Highly recommend for anybody that's interested in the business side of hip hop, Marketing, or anybody that thinks they have a good pulse on why things are the way they are.
The Tanning of America explains exactly what the title states: The taking of multiple colors, initially separated, coming together to create one color, Tan. From art, to advertisement, to overall awareness, the book highlights key moments in time/people who have had (in the authors POV) the biggest impact on todays culture and why Hip-Hop culture is the essential driver of the modern economy. Using the point that American pop culture is the United States biggest export.
Stout provides many anecdotes that are hard to argue with. Marketing campaigns he was involved with like Reeboks resurgence, Sprite, McDonalds, Apple's Itunes, Cadillac...all show the before and after affect (stock price before and after) that authenticity, relevant cultural messaging, and hip-hop played and still plays in creating and maintaining a COOL and TRUSTED brand.
A few of my favorite quotes:
On the six degrees of separation between people-"There are really more like two. What is the separation?. The difference is between those who aspire and those who don't"
"Cool isn't what you have, It's where you got it"
"The Job of the translator, as a rule in the new economy, is to find the sweet spot between the brand's core value and the cultural cues"
On the code of Ethics that hip-hop has given- "The power to change in order to grow" Explaining why Jay Z wrote the song "Change Clothes" and how it was relevant for moving hip-hop and brands forward.
Great book. Highly recommend for anybody that's interested in the business side of hip hop, Marketing, or anybody that thinks they have a good pulse on why things are the way they are.
June 5, 2018
This book was incredibly interesting and I like it for its marketing outlook on things. It brought up great discussions, but since I’m reading a lot of pro black books I have to stop Steve at a couple or points. Tanning in one form to me means assimilation into mainstream culture. Because our culture was accepted it was marketers jobs to get it out and make it cool. Job accomplished. Steve said that now things that were being done in the Black community are finally getting shine it means that the mainstream has accepted us. I don’t believe that I think mainstream has took our ideas, our history, our cool and not given credit for it calling it their own.
He talked about Tommy Hilfiger and how he would have urban kids come and try on his clothes so he can see how they wear them. In exchange for their “help”Tommy would then let the kids keep the merch, where they would wear it out and ultimately promote the brand. Did Tommy say this is where I got my ideas from these kids no he kept all the profits etc. for himself. I posed this question of Facebook... where is the line between culture appropriation and inspiration?
Steve also said that things that black women had like big butts, lips, etc. were now culturally acceptable because you have people like Kim K, and Jessica Biel with that shape. Steve, Black women are still being ridiculed for their looks which has become socially acceptable to everyone who isn’t black.
Looking at this from a marketing eye I thought the book was amazing, looking at this from a black woman in 2018 I thought this book lacked depth of the struggle to market to mainstream and keep the authenticity and culture in the culture so the culture profits! Need others to read this book to discuss.
He talked about Tommy Hilfiger and how he would have urban kids come and try on his clothes so he can see how they wear them. In exchange for their “help”Tommy would then let the kids keep the merch, where they would wear it out and ultimately promote the brand. Did Tommy say this is where I got my ideas from these kids no he kept all the profits etc. for himself. I posed this question of Facebook... where is the line between culture appropriation and inspiration?
Steve also said that things that black women had like big butts, lips, etc. were now culturally acceptable because you have people like Kim K, and Jessica Biel with that shape. Steve, Black women are still being ridiculed for their looks which has become socially acceptable to everyone who isn’t black.
Looking at this from a marketing eye I thought the book was amazing, looking at this from a black woman in 2018 I thought this book lacked depth of the struggle to market to mainstream and keep the authenticity and culture in the culture so the culture profits! Need others to read this book to discuss.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2021
Super informative book and so cool- so many connections that Stoute talked about that I never realized had actually been connected before (ex: McDonald's I'm Lovin It and Justin Timberlake). Pretty lengthy book, and I did think that perhaps Stoute could've condensed it, but I thought it was really well written. I really really enjoyed learning this history.
Notes (for myself):
- The "tanning" phenomenon raised a generation of black, Hispanic, white, and Asian consumers who have the same "mental complexion" based on shared experiences and values
- This consumer has a certain mindset- an urban, cool, and youth mindset
- With the rise of hip-hop, marketing ultimately changed- it wasn't just a thing where you could hire a celebrity and have them hold up your product to sell out, hip-hop stars needed to love your product and drop it in more low-key ways- like via rap lyrics, or simply by repping the brand (ex: LL Cool J and his Kangol Hat, and FUBU).
- Stoute outlined a lot of important marketing tips for the new generations- a brand has to be
"cool" and "trusted" if it wants to gain a following
- Stoute was involved in multiple marketing campaigns, including: Reebok, Sprite, McDonalds, Apple's Itunes, Cadillac, etc- and within these he was able to combine his insight into hip-hop music with their ad campaigns
- Hip hop is revolutionary- it is one of the only global cultures, and continues to maintain its cool
Notes (for myself):
- The "tanning" phenomenon raised a generation of black, Hispanic, white, and Asian consumers who have the same "mental complexion" based on shared experiences and values
- This consumer has a certain mindset- an urban, cool, and youth mindset
- With the rise of hip-hop, marketing ultimately changed- it wasn't just a thing where you could hire a celebrity and have them hold up your product to sell out, hip-hop stars needed to love your product and drop it in more low-key ways- like via rap lyrics, or simply by repping the brand (ex: LL Cool J and his Kangol Hat, and FUBU).
- Stoute outlined a lot of important marketing tips for the new generations- a brand has to be
"cool" and "trusted" if it wants to gain a following
- Stoute was involved in multiple marketing campaigns, including: Reebok, Sprite, McDonalds, Apple's Itunes, Cadillac, etc- and within these he was able to combine his insight into hip-hop music with their ad campaigns
- Hip hop is revolutionary- it is one of the only global cultures, and continues to maintain its cool
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2023
With the clarity of hindsight, I wonder if Stoute would admit that he failed to launch his catch word “Tanning” into the zeitgeist. Half of this book is terrific insight into the purchasing trends that accompanied the rise of Hip Hop/Urban music and the companies that racked in substantial profits by listening to the needs of fashion conscious fans enthralled with this dynamic music genre. The other half is this book is Stoute trying desperately to force his “Tanning” descriptor into every other page which then became a tiresome gimmick that lacked authenticity; ironically exemplifying a marketing pitfall outlined in this same book.
I get the gist of what Stoute means when he keeps referring to the “Tanning” effect in America, but its overuse throughout the book served more as a lame over-simplification for complex and intertwined political, social and economic factors that can’t be neatly summed up with, “You can thank Hip-Hop for that!” Understandably, this book is very myopic as it is written through the perspective of a man who achieved monumental success in the Hip-Hop/Urban music business, but it felt like Stoute was disingenuously cherry picking events that aligned with his “Tanning” marketing jargon.
July 14, 2019
As a big music nerd and someone who knows very little about marketing, this book was a super informative read that opened my eyes to a lot of aspects of “tanning” that I live everyday but probably take for granted because of the pervasiveness of it all. My only complaint about the book would be that it felt some ideas or moments in history weren’t explored as deeply as I would have liked them to be. However, as a first foray into the impact of hip hop on the economy this really whet my appetite to know more and keep learning. Steve Stoute is truly a visionary and I wish that he was more of a household name
June 20, 2021
This was an interesting read. I got this book after hearing Stoute speak at a conference years ago. It's definitely a book caught in the moment it was written (came out in early 2012). I enjoyed it and learned some things, but I am curious what the author makes of the backlash against what he terms "tanning" (basically multi-culturalism and the blending of POC cultures into the mainstream) that's happened since he wrote this book.
It's a cool book that gives a specific perspective on the confluence of hip-hop (and popular music in general) with marketing and advertising. I recommend it, but it's a bit dated, which I think is inevitable for most business books.
It's a cool book that gives a specific perspective on the confluence of hip-hop (and popular music in general) with marketing and advertising. I recommend it, but it's a bit dated, which I think is inevitable for most business books.
March 10, 2023
I love the topics of this book and the intriguing anecdotes, but honestly this book took me relatively long to read just because I feel it overstayed its welcome a little bit. Certainly was interesting and would recommend to anyone in the entertainment business!
August 7, 2017
Interesting and well written.
November 5, 2017
The book drags on a little but really good read for people with an interest in business (specifically marketing) and also an interest in hip hop
May 1, 2018
An incredibly enlightening backstory of the rise of hip hop as a defining zeitgeist of American Culture.
February 23, 2019
great read.. Lots of information to support his claim that hip hop influences the world, more than we realize.
300-399-social-science
January 21, 2020306.1
August 6, 2020
RR10...
December 5, 2021
A must-read for the marketing professional.
The book discusses the ever-changing consumer landscape with a focus on US/Global acceptance of millennial urban culture.
The book discusses the ever-changing consumer landscape with a focus on US/Global acceptance of millennial urban culture.
December 4, 2022
Different read for me - I enjoyed it, shows the impact hip hop/rap has had on business/consumers/ focused on marketing!
January 7, 2023
Really interesting book, big focus on Hip-Hop, Marketing & Branding. Recommend to everyone!
January 17, 2023
Enjoyed this book way more then I expected to.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews