Listen Live
Hot 100.9 Featured Video
CLOSE

Mountain Dew just announced a big partnership/endorsement deal with Lil Wayne, who they’ve teamed up with for a new campaign called DEWeezy.

The partnership is set to kick off at SXSW this week, but images from the campaign first started appearing on New York City wallscapes last week. Then, a press release by the rapper’s management confirmed the deal as well.

The DEWeezy campaign will consists of advertisements, public appearances and the creation of a skate park in Lil Wayne’s hometown of New Orleans. A press release also hinted at a possible touring component, noting that the deal was “anchored in Lil Wayne’s touring presence and outside interests including skateboarding and the rebuilding of New Orleans.”

“We are excited to partner Lil Wayne’s brand with a brand like Mountain Dew, a household name,” Cortez Bryant, co-CEO of Blueprint Group (Wayne’s management firm) said in a statement. “[B]y showing interest in Lil Wayne, both Mountain Dew and the Glu Agency showed us they were forward thinking and valued the impact that Lil Wayne’s brand has had and will continue to have on global pop culture.”

Mountain Dew has yet to comment on the deal.

Mountain Dew’s parent company, PepsiCo, has partnered with hip-hip artists during its history. According to Billboard.biz, the company discontinued an ad campaign featuring then-upcoming rapper Ludacris in 2002 after Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly called for a boycott over the rapper’s lyrics. The company later tapped rap/pop group Black Eyed Peas in 2007 for a wide-ranging campaign, later teaming up with rappers like Busta Rhymes for a Pepsi Max Super Cowl commercial. Now, they return with Lil Wayne.

Mountain Dew also has been laying its footprint directly in the hip-hop world, via its indie music imprint, Green Label Sound. They’ve partnered with groups like The Cool Kids and U-N-I and rapper Theophilus London for exclusive music releases.