Now, did they do this just for photo ops and show performances? Yes, I don’t recall them in any interview saying that they walked the streets like this. They could have feuded with the Fabulous Freebirds and the The Rock and Roll Express if they wanted to but, because you like the music, they don’t count as rappers with a gimmick. You probably don’t want to believe it but, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five had a gimmick. Go head and please, leave what the Urban Dictionary says in the comments. I know some of you have ran to “Urban Dictionary” to try and refute the context of how I am using the English language right now.
Given the definition that I pulled from Wikipedia, every rapper who has had any sort of mainstream success and every rapper that has failed has had a “gimmick”. After today I want them to realize how much sense that doesn’t make and to prove not only that gimmicks are a huge part of hip-hop, it’s why rappers even exist in the culture of hip-hop as well as the mainstream. One thing that I absolutely loathe and specifically in hip-hop conversations are the “hip-hop purist and elitist” who rant, rave and scream on gimmicks and how they have no place in hip-hop. Now that I got that out of the way, let me speak freely…. Thus, a gimmick is a special feature for the sake of having a special feature. However, the special feature is typically thought to be of little relevance or use. Wikipedia defines Gimmick – In marketing language, a gimmick is a unique or quirky special feature that makes something “stand out” from its contemporaries.