Fly Whips: 15 Cars Hip-Hop Made Famous [PHOTOS] - Page 7

The automotive industry owes more to Hip-Hop than it probably realizes, especially with all the free publicity rappers have given out over the years.

Similar to jewelry, girls, houses, alcohol, and even molly (for a little while), spitting on your car game is an easy way to fill up lyrical space and gloat about your status (or lack thereof).

As Hip-Hop has expanded over the last 40 years, so has the automotive industry. The marker of  luxury has gone up thanks in part to the music game. If you think about it, rappers basically made TVs in cars a trend, and rims over 20 inches a “flyness” requirement, but they also introduced specific vehicles to an audience that may not have known much about them beforehand.

So exactly how much money is Hip-Hop owed for its car contribution? That figure will likely never be tallied, but there are plenty of examples of Hip-Hop’s contributions that go beyond Eminem’s Chrysler deal, or the creepy rapping hamsters in those Kia commercials.

Hit the gallery below to see 15 cars Hip-Hop made famous, and some accompanying lyrics.

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Photo: YouTube/Instagram/YouTube/DefJam/Mercedes/CarGurus

Acura Legend  

The Acura legend is kind of like a mid-point for the rapper on the rise, and was sold under Honda’s imprint beginning in 1986. Back in the ’90s, pushing a Legend showed that you had  enough money in the bank to afford the leather seating, tints, and –if you were really about your duckets– a built-in tape deck WITH a CD player.

Lyric:  “The spectacular, Blacula, bust holes like Dracula/Loaded of course, more legend than Acura.” -Jean Grae, “Assasins”

Jeep 

The Jeep Wrangler is a cousin to the Willys MB vehicles used during World War II, and produced up until the late ’80s. Hip-Hop got hold of “the jeep” (and R. Kelly penned that song, which in hindsight was probably about a little girl), and turned it into a staple in music videos.

Lyric: “I peep you frontin,’ I was in the Jeep/Sunk in the seat tinted wit’ heat, beats bumpin.’ -Nas “96 Freestyle”

Chevy Lowrider

The West Coast’s Chicano culture ushered in the Chevy Lowrider. The car lowering tactic were created in Southern California during the late 1950s and early 1960s, and peaked in the ’70s during impromptu car shows.

Lyric: “Ridin’ on these ni–as cause they lame/ In a ’61 Chevy, still heavy in this game, can you feel me?” -Tupac “Still Ballin'”

Maybach

Rick Ross named his label (Maybach Music Group) after the Mercedes Maybach, but the craze kinda died down over the years.  Kanye West and Jay Z destroyed a Maybach  in their “Otis” video, and in  December 2012 the company manufactured its final models due to low sales.

Lyric: “Maybach kind of mental. 400 off the lot, the block is monumental.” -Rick Ross Maybach Music

Rolls Royce Phantom

Remember this thing? The Rolls Royce Phantom was all the rage a few years ago, and still turns heads for the most part. The four-door Phantom was introduced in 2003, and since then Rolls Royce has expanded to several different versions including cheaper models like the  “Ghost” four-door sedan and “Wrait” two-door coupé.

Also, in case you’re in the market for a new toy, a 2013 Phantom MSRP will run you about 470K.

Lyric: “Dippin’ in the Phantom, thought they seen a ghost/Try live life, baby gon’ make a toast.” – French Montana “Shot Caller (Remix)”

Bentley

The Bentley didn’t make a lyrical rap debut until years after the company was founded by W.O. Bentley in 1919, and had its first major showing by way of the Indianapolis 500 race in 1922. The brand rose to prominence among the wealthy due in part to former Bentley Motors Limited chairman Woolf Barnato’s who raced with a wealthy crew  known as the “Bentley Boys.” Rolls Royce acquired the company in 1931.

Lyric: “A video or not that will bust it to the glock stop/ Drag ya out that Bentley Coupe and take it to the chop shop.” -T.I. “What You Know”

Escalade

1999 was the year that Cadillac showed us its Escalade model. General Motors got a head start in the luxury SUV race with the 1998 Lincoln Navigator, forcing Cadillac to rush through their Escalade design, and it paid off. Unfortunately, there’s a down side to fame because as the Escalade became so popular that it topped the list of “Most stolen Cars” list  for years in a row.

Lyric: “I put Lamborghini doors on that Escalade/Low pro, so look like I’m riding on blades.” -50 Cent “How We Do”

BMW 745

BMW’s “7 series” of full-sized luxury vehicles launched in 1977, however the 745I/ and LI (pictured above) came out between 2002-2005. Available only in sedan, BMW’s 7 series is pretty popular in the Middle Eastern market, yet sales U.S. sales have dropped over the last three years, which might be why we haven’t heard a 745 mention in a verse in years now.

Lyric: “745 with the Gucci interior, I see a rich n-gga when I look in the mirror.” – Gucci Mane “745”

Buggati

There was a time when the Buggati was a million-dollar ticket flaunted by a select group of rich people. Italian-born  car manufacturer Ettore Bugatti founded the car company in 1909. Old school Buggati’s did well in the racing world, yet by the late 1950s Buggati was fledgling in the automotive industry until Italian businessman Romano Artilo took hold of the brand in 1987. Artilo tapped Lamborghini designers to reconstruct Buggati’s new look which at the time was touted as “the most technically advanced sports car ever produced.”

Lyric: “I’m a love machine, and I won’t work for nobody but you/It’s only me and her ’cause the Buggati a coupe.” -Lil Wayne “Miss Me” by Drake.

Lamborghini 

The  Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini company was birthed in 1963 after founder Ferrucio Lamborghini hit on a modification idea for Ferrari models (replacing the original clutch with one from a tractor). Ferrari wasn’t interested in Lamborghini’s invention since he wasn’t actually in the car business at the time, so he went into business on his own, and the rest is history.

As for the Murcielago model, it went into production in 2001  and became so popular that it wasn’t even used in G.O.O.D. Music’s “Mercy” video because they were sold out and therefore hard to track down.

Lyric: “Lamborghini Mercy (swerve), yo chick she’s so thirsty/I’m in that two-seat Lambo with your girl she tryna jerk me.” – Kanye West “Mercy.”

Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari launched his line of luxury cars in 1921 first by sponsoring racers before expanding into legal-street production in 1929. Ferrari maintained its relationship with the racing community, and in 2012 earned its highest revenue figures in over 60 years.  These days Ferrari CEO Luca Cordero di Montezemolo aims to increase the company’s exclusivity factor versus sales.

Lyric: “Black Ferrari with the red seats, I call it Playin’ Checkers/ I’m never doing verses, I’m forever giving lectures.” -Drake “Ransom”

Aston Martin

Aston Martin was a subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company from 1994-2007, when ProDrive boss David Ross purchased a 90 percent stake for nearly a half-million euros, while Ford maintained a multi-million euro share. The company was founded in 1913 by business partners Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford and retooled  to include the  Aston-Martin name after World War 1.

Lyric: ” Breezing down the freeway just me and my baby, in our ride/Just me and my boss, no worries at all, listening to the Aston Martin Music.” – Chrisette Michelle “Aston Martin Music”

Range Rover

Range Rovers hit the European scene in the early ’70s under the Land Rover imprint, which is a subdivision of Jaguar. Standing as the company’s marquee vehicle, Range Rovers weren’t officially sold in the U.S. markets in 1987 following a period of “grey sales” ( legal foreign imports). The company introduced its coveted Range Rover Sport at the 2004 North American International Auto Show.

Lyric: “Jump in the Rover and come over, tell your friends jump in the GS3/I got the chronic by the tree.” Notorious B.I.G. “Big Poppa”

The Hooptie

Not sure of the exact history on this one but if you’ve ever had, saw, or heard about a “hooptie,” “bucket,” “scraper,” “jalopy” (lol) or some other slang equivalent, than you understand its importance to Hip-Hop.

Never forget.

Lyric: “My hooptie rollin’, tailpipe draggin’/Heat don’t work an’ my girl keeps naggin'” -Sir Mix-a-Lot “My Hooptie”