Friday, February 03, 2006
don't tread on duece
are you ready for hip-hop and soccer together in a single serving? Well have a look at this music video by the Revolution’s own Clint Dempsey. This one really has my brain scrambled to be honest.
Just a bit of background: Clint is sponsored by Nike who also sponsors the US National Team. Nike has come up with the “Don’t Tread On Me” campaign for the upcoming World Cup. The logo uses the familiar coiled snake from the Don’t Tread on Me flag you might recognize. I’m guessing that borrowing imagery (and the slogan to boot!) from the Revolutionary war is meant to rally the US fans around the concept that our soccer team is not yet a traditional power, but they are here to stay and will gladly fight to get the respect they deserve. I suppose the whole point is that US soccer is getting’ all up in your grill in Germany this summer. So that’s the general ad campaign.
Add to this the fact that Clint is a big hip hop fan and has always toyed around rapping like any music fan will when singing in the shower or just joking around. Now Clint is the next hot thing for US Soccer and has a decent shot of making the World Cup team. So Nike sets him up to record this song and video.
I don’t like the video because it strikes me as beyond comical to see soccer games and juggling tricks juxtaposed with the clichéd rap video images of pimped out cars, gold teeth and hand signs. There seems to be potential here to label Clint and Nike together as gigantic posers.
I do like the video because it’s well done and Clint shows just enough talent and attitude that it's clear he's not posing. I may think he looks silly, but I believe that he believes in what he's doing. Furthermore, the video presents soccer in a light which it hasn't been seen in before. For the sport to grow, it has to shed its soccer-mom, white suburbia association, so this should help that. Ultimately I think it’s a good thing and I think the reason I find it weird/funny is simply because it deals in a language and social currency that I have no clue about.
Are there any hip hop, non-soccer fans out there? What do you think?
are you ready for hip-hop and soccer together in a single serving? Well have a look at this music video by the Revolution’s own Clint Dempsey. This one really has my brain scrambled to be honest.
Just a bit of background: Clint is sponsored by Nike who also sponsors the US National Team. Nike has come up with the “Don’t Tread On Me” campaign for the upcoming World Cup. The logo uses the familiar coiled snake from the Don’t Tread on Me flag you might recognize. I’m guessing that borrowing imagery (and the slogan to boot!) from the Revolutionary war is meant to rally the US fans around the concept that our soccer team is not yet a traditional power, but they are here to stay and will gladly fight to get the respect they deserve. I suppose the whole point is that US soccer is getting’ all up in your grill in Germany this summer. So that’s the general ad campaign.
Add to this the fact that Clint is a big hip hop fan and has always toyed around rapping like any music fan will when singing in the shower or just joking around. Now Clint is the next hot thing for US Soccer and has a decent shot of making the World Cup team. So Nike sets him up to record this song and video.
I don’t like the video because it strikes me as beyond comical to see soccer games and juggling tricks juxtaposed with the clichéd rap video images of pimped out cars, gold teeth and hand signs. There seems to be potential here to label Clint and Nike together as gigantic posers.
I do like the video because it’s well done and Clint shows just enough talent and attitude that it's clear he's not posing. I may think he looks silly, but I believe that he believes in what he's doing. Furthermore, the video presents soccer in a light which it hasn't been seen in before. For the sport to grow, it has to shed its soccer-mom, white suburbia association, so this should help that. Ultimately I think it’s a good thing and I think the reason I find it weird/funny is simply because it deals in a language and social currency that I have no clue about.
Are there any hip hop, non-soccer fans out there? What do you think?
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As a non-hip-hop non-soccer fan, I will share that it is totally unwatchable, couldn't make it past 45 seconds. But I feel that way about most rap/hip-hop videos.
That's a bit surreal. More like an SNL spoof than a real music video.
Poor kids growing up on the mean streets... playing soccer?
Poor kids growing up on the mean streets... playing soccer?
# posted by 
: 3:34 PM
: 3:34 PM
"Poor kids growing up on the mean streets... playing soccer?"
That's the interesting part, the rapper/soccer guy there Dempsey grew up dirt poor, out in hicksville texas. He talks about him and his brother kicking the ball against the side of his trailor home.
And in most of the world soccer is celebrated as a game for the poor because all you need is a single ball. But that's certainly not the image it has here in the US.
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That's the interesting part, the rapper/soccer guy there Dempsey grew up dirt poor, out in hicksville texas. He talks about him and his brother kicking the ball against the side of his trailor home.
And in most of the world soccer is celebrated as a game for the poor because all you need is a single ball. But that's certainly not the image it has here in the US.
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