Ludwig Van Beethoven, a famous German composer and pianist, once said that music could change the world; and it has, in many ways. Today, the number of music genres is countless. As a matter of fact, it seems that a new genre is discovered and developed every day. One of the more popular and influential music genres would be hip hop music.

Hip hop music generally consists of rap, which is a rhythmic vocal style that is accompanied by backing beats. It is a part of the hip hop culture that originated in the Bronx in New York back in the 1970s, primarily in the African American and Latin American community. Some of the more popular artists in the hip hop music scene would include 50 cent, Eminem, Snoop Doggy Dog and Warren G.

Two decades from the time it started as a distinct music genre, the elements of hip hop were used to create many other genres of popular music. Some of these genres would include Nu soul, which is the combination of soul and hip hop music. Some of the other hip hop genres were also developed such as acid rap, bounce music, alternative music, Christian hip hop, contemporary R&B, comedy hip hop, country rap, crunk, electro-hop, freestyle music, funk carioca, freestyle rap, gangsta rap, grime, ghetto house, hardcore hip hop, instrumental hip hop, hip hop soul, jazz rap, pop rap, rap rock, political hip hop and turntablism.

It has since thrived mainly in urban America and has evolved into a $4-billion-a-year industry which spans all over the world. For the past couple of years, hip hop continues to be the one of the top-selling music genres along with rock music and country music. In fact, hip hop music has influenced a lot of sectors in the society from music in general, to fashion, to arts, to the media and to the different social communities. It has also influenced the world of branding. A lot of companies have embraced the culture of hip hop and have generated significant positive results. Some of these companies include the Coca-Cola brand Sprite which started making use of rap music in their commercial ads back in 1994. Some department store retailers such as Macy’s also filled a lot of their racks with hip hop merchandise made by Fubu, Phat Farm and G-Unit, among others. Although there have been some negative connotations which were associated with hip hop, companies continue to use its market appeal in order to gain leverage.

Aside from hip hop, there are also some companies which used other music genres in their marketing campaigns. There are even some that have used Linux products and Linux gifts as part of their advertising strategy.

Linux is basically the term that refers to the UNIX-like computer operating systems which are based on the Linux kernel. Linux was originally written by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Many people choose to use Linux as their operating system since the components that it uses are free and open source software. Today, Linux is used for desktops and servers, as well as for computer architecture support, localization to a specific language or region, embedded systems, stability, security and support for real-time computer applications, among others. The Linux kernel has also been used for software architectures of current technological gadgets such as PDAs, portable music players, Macintosh computers, mobile phones and video game consoles.

Due to the many uses of Linux and the Linux kernel, a lot of companies sell Linux products and Linux gifts to gain leverage and as part of their marketing campaign. Some of the more popular Linux gifts (Linux Geschenke) that are being sold in the market today include Linux mugs, coasters, bookmarks, key rings and refrigerator magnets.