How’d Scott Storch get a Veyron?

Say what you will about the genre, there has always been an undeniable and deep-link between hip-hop and cars.

To quote the ever poetic Lil-Wayne on his track “Shine”:

Yellow Viper, yellow Hummer, Yellow Benz
Yellow PT Cruiser, yellow ‘Lac on rims
Drop yellow ‘Vette and a platinum Rolls Royce
[My boy Ben in Miami can fill in this last line:]
That’s seven different cars, everyday I got a choice.

Genius? I think so.

Well I bring this up because Forbes recently did another excellent piece on cars that I wanted to share with the crowd. In conjunction with their naming Jay-Z #1 on a list of hip-hop cash kings, they did a slide show/article on hip-hop moguls, producers, and artists entitled “Hip-Hop Hot-Rods”. I don’t want to spoil it, but I know for a fact Wyclef’s McLaren F1 is just one of a stable of whips, even though he wouldn’t jump to the top of most people’s lists for having a tight car-game.

And just so you don’t think I’m always re-hashing Forbes content, here is an original, informal analysis I did on car brand mentions in hip-hop tracks, done by cross-referencing brands with the Online Hip-Hop Lyric Archive via Google. If you ever doubted what a nerd I was about cars, here you go:

The Benz has always been a staple, as has Cadillac. Runners up included Jag/Jaguar as well as Hummer and Beamer/Beamer/BMW.

Last, as long as we are on the subject, Falafel Beatz!

T’s Cadillac or E’s Aston Martin?

We all know Ari Gold switched the numbers on his wife’s Benz so she thought she had the V12. And how many times did we watch Tony Soprano in his Chevy Suburban during the opening credits? But do you remember what Sil was driving when he took Adrianna on her final ride? (A Cadillac of course.) Or did you know that Vince’s cousin Dom was at the time driving the only ‘07 Mercedes S65 in the US?

I don’t know how I missed this, but Forbes published two excellent Top 10 lists, the first being Ten Memorable Car Scenes from The Sopranos and the second, Vehicles Featured on Entourage. Big ups to Forbes for putting these lists together.

If you think about it there is some automotive overlap between the two shows. Though not featured in the slideshow above, Chris Moltisanti drove a yellow Hummer H2 just like Turtle’s, and later he aquired Johnny ‘Sack’ Sacramoni’s Maserati - a coupe to E’s Quattroporte. Considering Chris’s Hollywood ambitions, it all seems to fit.

The bottom line is both shows, especially Entourage, are like mana for car lovers. Not to mention the shows are incredible in their own right. Bless you HBO.

Escalade Getaway for the WSJ Heist

You are already worth north of $6.5 billion and you manage to jack one of the world’s most respected publications. What better truck to ride out in than a Cadillac Escalade. Rupert Murdoch, ladies and gentleman.