On Friday HBO will release a mix-tape featuring 10 Hip-Hop and Latin Music artists to promote the Season 4 premiere of their hit show “Game of Thrones”. Album, which will be called “Catch the Thrones” will be available for free online will feature Daddy Yankee, Big Boi, Common, Wale, Bodega Bamz and others dropping lyrics that supposed to be “inspired” by the show so far. Here are some sample lyrics:
Wale:
I’m tellin’ whoever messin’ with me / I can bring you that Khaleesi heat
Use my King, knack for words, as an actual sword / I can decapitate a rapper
Common:
I sit and think when I’m in my zone/ This life is like a Game of Thrones
Now here’s where we could delve into a lot of snarky comments about how this is a really transparent and almost insulting attempt to bring the “urban community” to the show. Or we could comment on the fact that it’s probably mostly hipster white guys who would ever bother with this album to begin with. But all of those things have been said, done and pointed out to death. What I’m more interested in is which shows get the treatment next? If HBO thinks that throwing a few rappers will get even more black and Latinos folks to watch Game of Thrones (as opposed to perhaps casting more Black and Latino characters?) maybe other networks can use this concept to increase the diversity of their audiences as well.
Duck Dynasty: After the Phil Robertson controversy A&E decides to enlist Jay-Z and the full Wu-Tang Clan to work with Phil on some lyrics to re-habilitate his image and give the show a more contemporary edge. The promotional album would be called Duck Dynasty Seazon
Girls: Tired of complaints that the hit HBO show focuses on a very narrow, very white, very upper class and entirely unlikeable group of 20-somethings HBO goes back to the rap well, to give GIRLS a new look. With Childish Gambino writing the hooks (since he’s been one of only two black men to have speaking roles in GIRLS 2 seasons) and getting help from A$AP Rocky and Eminem they release The Fucking Problem with GIRLS (featuring a naked Lena Dunham on the cover)
Shameless: Finaly realizing that most minorities in America are turned off by a show about pill popping, criminal white trash that only introduces people of color as accessories to white leads Showtime decides to go all in on a rap themed season with Shameless. Remixing with Whiz Khalifa and Rick Ross the network should release a mixtape called Shameless Hustle
I have a feeling that if as many people download this new album from “Catch the Thrones” as HBO is banking on, these other ideas won’t be that far off.
@DrJasonJohnson
