This is not a drill; snack food rap battles are now a “thing.” Apparently, Cheetos mascot Chester The Cheetah didn’t appreciate watching Chance The Rapper and Doritos stepping on his Flamin’ Hot territory during the Super Bowl and hit the studio to spit some bars calling them out. If you’re not too dizzy from rolling your eyes at that last sentence, you can watch the resulting music video above. It features a computer animated Chester rapping in front of a chair that clearly represents the Flamin’ Hot throne and a video screen scrolling some animation of his representative product.
It was only a matter of time before Frito-Lay — which owns both chip brands, naturally — decided to go all in on the battle rap motif they… ahem… kicked off during last year’s Super Bowl with a commercial featuring Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Morgan Freeman, and Peter Dinklage of Game Of Thrones. In that series of ads, Doritos was pitted against Mountain Dew as Frito-Lay and Pepsi Bottling Group owner PepsiCo sought a little more brand synergy.
So, don’t be surprised if we’re watching the notoriously brand friendly Chance The Rapper lyrically duke it out with a cartoon cheetah some time next week. It’s just another example of the way hip-hop — and advertising — have taken over the world in recent years, with Chance and other rappers like JID, Kyle, and Migos forming brand partnerships to bring a little of the streets’ flavor to corporate marketing plans in exchange for more exposure — and truckloads of cash.
For more anthropomorphic, battle-rapping animals, check out The Muppets’ recent appearance on Drop The Mic. For more rapping mascots, give Wendy’s mixtape and Hamburger Helper’s EP a spin.
