Hip Hop has had the unparalleled ability to elevate a particular brand to prominence.  Whether it was Run DMC and their Addidas, Ralph Lauren’s Polo in the 90′s, Diddy and his Ciroc Vodka and of course there’s Jay-Z.  The list is endless.  Madison Avenue dished out billions to these hip hop stars keeping an otherwise dying industry on life support.

Then there’s Louis Vuitton.  Over the last handful of years we’ve seen the brand cameo in music videos, adorned on the backs and arms of the game’s brightest talents both male and female and detailed in the rhymes on a growing number of records.  Lead by the self-proclaimed Louis Vuitton Don, Kanye West and fashion trendsetter, Pharrell Williams the brands surgence into the game has been well documented.  But is that a good thing?

Kanye West has made the new, more flamboyant Hip Hop generation desire to want to be like him and rock the Louis the way he does.  ONE PROBLEM!  Kanye never rocks ANYTHING the way its intededed or designed to be rocked.  In fact, a vast majority of the looks we see in the street aren’t consistant with the way in which the bag’s designers intended them for use.  For as long as bootlegs have been available, Louis bags have continued to top the list of most ripped designs.  Why because the pricey authentics are almost always too pricey for the hood to afford.

Take these ads just released by Louis featuring Madonna, the new face their spring/summer fashion campaign and actor Sean Connery.  These layouts don’t appear in any Source, Vibe or even Complex Magazines they’re in far more “affluent” publications targeting dare I say a paler persuasion.  The level of high fashion exhibited in the ads is clearly inconsistent with your everyday shorty on the ave or even the steeze in which Kanye exhibits the brand.

So what does this mean for the brand?  Well Louis sales have I’m sure been helped by Hip Hop’s love affair however the brand equity has probably been tarnished.  Its like real estate, no offense but when the ghetto black folks move in the property value goes down.