Although it seems like EVERYONE watches Game of Thrones by this point, whether legally or otherwise, HBO has been spending a lot of money finding creative ways to attract even more viewers for season four. Their latest idea: Game of Thrones-inspired mixtapes from “celebrity influencers.”
Over the years, rappers have influenced the buying habits and brand preferences of urban audiences just by mentioning the items in a song, helping to drive sales of everything from Dom Pérignon champagne to Nike basketball shoes. Now HBO, the premium cable channel that produces and airs Game of Thrones, has hired 10 hip-hop and Latin-music artists to rap about the TV series, which the network hopes will encourage more rap fans to watch the show. The result, a 10-song hip-hop “mixtape” called Catch the Throne, is expected to be released online on Friday. HBO declined to say how much the campaign cost or how much the artists are being paid. (Via)
Artists on the mixtape include Wale, Big Boi, Common, Daddy Yankee, and Bodega Bamz, who is instantly my favorite rapper named after a place where you buy overpriced six-packs. What’s left unsaid, though, is if they’ll have Game of Thrones-ized names, like Night’s Wale, Faceless Common, and Big Boi King. (Where’s Kanye Westeros and, um, Jon Snow?) Bodega Bamz is still Bodega Bamz.
