Cool Hunting, Parody, and Rap

     I've never been a big fan of rap. I like some of "the classics" like Eminem, maybe some Drake; but after a while, all of it seems to blend together to me. In the last year or so, I've discovered a sub-genre of rap that appeals to me in ways rap never has: comedic rap. It appeared to be the same as traditional rap in terms of style and rhythm, but with funny, satirical lyrics. Merchants of Cool can help explain why some like rap while I prefer comedic rap.
     "Cool hunting" is a technique used by marketers to target changing trends before they become popular. This allows them to get ahead of other brands by knowing what products to market when. The problem with cool hunting is that, in many cases, cool things become uncool shortly after the media markets them as cool. It seems that consumers tend to cycle between bandwagoning and hipsterdom. This may explain why rap has been extremely popular among young people for the past 25 years. Early rap artists united teens through messages of rebellion. As an alternative to conforming to "the system," rap glorified a certain lifestyle centered around wealth, partying, and separating oneself from parents and authorities (those who were uncool). Consequently, rap became popular among young people, and marketers found a new outlet to appeal to them.
     One element of rap that has turned me away from it is the amount of materialism it seems to endorse. Cool hunters have taken advantage of rap's popularity among young people by plugging car, alcohol, clothing, and headphone brands among many more in rap songs and videos, which creates an efficient link between products and consumers. However, some rap artists have used their positions as "cool" artists to discuss social injustices and the need for change. Rappers like Macklemore don't use their work to advertise products, but rather social and political commentaries for the same reason advertisers have adopted rap as an advertising medium: it's appealing to a generation of malleable teenagers.
     But what about young people like me who don't have a reason to like rap? I have a good amount of privilege and I don't feel like I need to rebel against my parents. Comedic rappers create their appeal through a technique cool hunters have used before. Sprite used satire to make their product appealing afternthey realized endorsing a product with athletes too much made the product uncool. To set themselves apart, Sprite aired a commercial featuring NBA players Grant Hill speaking about why people shouldn't listen to pro athletes telling them to buy a product. The ad made fun of the fact that what Sprite was doing was uncool. This in itself made Sprite cool again.
     This very technique makes comedic rap appealing to those who don't like rap. Rappers who make fun of rap culture recognize that many consumers don't find rap cool. They instead parody rap to show listeners that disliking rap culture can be cool in itself. One of the best examples of comedic rap is Lil Dicky, whose song $ave Dat Money parodies the luxurious lifestyles of rappers through a music video shot with "as little money as possible." The genius of this is that it's a rap song parodying other rap songs. This is hugely appealing to people like me who find rap culture kind of ridiculous.
     In this way, comedic rappers themselves are cool hunters. They've seen the trend in people becoming disillusioned with rap, and capitalized on it to make their own sub-genre that attracts these people. It's like Lil Dicky says: "Rap game's got it all wrong." But comedic rap is getting it right.