Bros Icing Bros, Eat Your Heart Out

Earlier this week BrosIcingBros.com, the website that was the epicenter of the "icing" phenomenon, was shut down at the behest of Diageo Bottling, Smirnoff's parent company. In case you've been blissfully unaware of this stupid, but engrossing internet bullshit living under a rock, check out The New York Times' write-up, which has an unfortunately hilarious headline that manages to underscore how old and stodgy The Grey Lady seems when she's trying to be cool with the youngsters.

Until Diageo sent a cease and desist to BrosIcingBros, no one was sure whether this was a brilliant viral marketing ploy or not. It seems it was not, or someone recognized the need for Diageo and Smirnoff to distance themselves.

Which brings us to the above video, by the Gwop Gang from Cleveland, OH. They rap about a different kind of alkapop I've never even heard of called Four Loko. They're quite enthusiastic too, which we might be able to attribute to the beverage's unique makeup, detailed below.

We have been stripped of the ability to hear a song about a consumer product, and not rule out the idea that our trusted rappers might have been paid to make it. It has always entertained me to watch the rap-songs-dedicated-to-a-single-consumer-product pendulum swing back and forth form high- to low-end. A few years after Fabolous' "Throwback", we had Dem Francize Boyz' "White Tees"; In about same time period, we went from "Air Force Ones" to "Vans". But it's not so easy to put this track up against "Pass the Courvoisier"(I can't think of a more recent example), simply because it seems like it could be an advertisement. All the close-up shots, and detailed information about the product - the MSRP, the variety of flavors - suggest that someone might have wanted people to learn a lot about the product while being convinced of its efficacy and cache.

Or, maybe, the Gwop Gang was hard pressed to come up with 32 bars, and turned to the Four Loko website for more information. And the director thought the cans looked cool. It's hard to say.

Of course, the video could just as easily be an ad for strap-back Ralph Lauren Polo hats (was anyone else waiting the whole song for them to rhyme Loko with Polo?). And it didn't make me want to drink a Four Loko, until I read this item on CBS, which calls the drink "liquid cocaine". One can has as much alcohol as three beers, and a "ton of caffeine".

Well, I'm off to wander around Washington, DC, looking for Four Loko. Wish me luck, and enjoy your weekend. Here's a bonus Lil B track that I've been playing on repeat lately.

Lil B "The Pretty Bitch Is Back"

I'm sure it will sound even better when I'm all juiced up on Four Loko.