Cars are a huge part of the hip-hop scene and rap game

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Haters will say brands like Cadillac are only given shout outs in hip-hop and rap because of its ease pairing with other words in the English language. But legendary rappers can mold and bend language to fit their needs, goals ably communicated by Marshall Mathers (aka ‘Eminem’, aka ‘Slim Shady’, if you’re unfamiliar) in an Anderson Cooper interview over a decade ago.

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“If you’re taking the word at face value,” Mathers explained, “And you just say ‘orange’, nothing is going to rhyme with it exactly. But if you enunciate it and make it more than one syllable, or-ange, you can say, like, I put my or-ange, four-inch, door hinge in stor-age and ate porr-idge with Geo-rge.”

Still think Cadillac is part of rap and hip-hop culture just because it rhymes easily?

It’s not just because the brand rolls off the tongue. After all, there aren’t many artists willingly placing a downmarket vehicle at the centre of their bars unless they’re doing so to make a point like when Ye denigrated the pedestrian RAV4. Cadillac unofficially – very unofficially – knows this and is likely just fine if its vehicles are taken as aspirational. Certainly, it is using the XT4 as a step into the brand. “Young professionals who are finding success,” says Jamie Dewhurst, National Marketing and Communications Manager at Cadillac when we ask to whom this rig is aimed.

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What’s new with the Cadillac XT4 for 2024?

It also knows that, in the murderously cutthroat luxury compact crossover segment, product is king. This is why the XT4 has received a raft of updates for this new model year. Fettling of the front fascia hauls the model in line with other Cadillacs in the range, freshened thanks to new LEDs and different grilles. Same goes for the laser shot of towering LED taillamps out back, arguably looking more cohesive than the oddly bifurcated units on the new Escalade IQ. Eye-catching details extend beyond these areas, such as the illuminated Cadillac badge on the back of the infotainment screen which lights up when someone approaches the car with its key in their pocket.

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Speaking of infotainment, the massive 33-inch colour touchscreen appears as one continuous screen and is ever so slightly curved towards the driver. Cadillac makes full use of this digital real estate, making sure the native navigation map extends all the way to its lower right corner instead of appearing as a square with a huge bezel. Selectable controls wisely appear to the left of the digital gauges. The $1,010 AKG-branded audio system with over a dozen speakers is worth the cash. “Music means a lot to younger buyers,” explained Dewhurst. He’s right.

Some details in this interior proves there are bright sparks deep within the bowels of GM who can sneak superfluous design flourishes past the company’s bedwetting accountants. A series of multicolour abstract lines on the passenger side dashboard, stitched into the leather and disappearing underneath a layered surface, add a tremendous amount of unexpected visual interest. Materials themselves are excellent and the optional massaging seats are powerful enough to be borderline inappropriate. GM does need to bin this phallus shifter, which has been around for nearly a decade now, in favour of Mercedes-style column swizzle stick.

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In search of icons in hip-hop and rap, we pointed the XT4 to Casinorama, a couple of easy hours north from Toronto, playing host to an Ice Cube concert later that night. West Coast rappers all but invented the fusion of cars and bars, from gold-plated hydraulic lowriders to outrageous SUVs. Opening for Cube was Xzibit, personifying gearhead attitudes in the rap game by hosting Pimp My Ride over six seasons in the mid-2000s.

Cube brought the house down with ‘90s hits and some of his recent work, spitting lyrics with the same vigour as he did 30 years ago, interspersed with stories about inside baseball of the rap game between tracks. Walking from the casino after Cube’s show, we find valets have pulled this white Cadillac dead centre to the front doors in plain view of patrons and showgoers. With apologies to Cube, it was a good day.

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It’s impossible to talk this much about the rap game and the strength of its car culture without taking a stab at producing a list of blindingly cool (and plain odd) whips which have shown up in music videos and the personal collections of famous rappers. Fair warning, some of the videos linked below will cause workplace profanity filters to have a snit.

6 cool cars in iconic hip-hop and rap music videos

Ice Cube – 1964 Chevrolet Impala

You know we’re starting with the artist who kicked off the idea for this post, right? Cube’s video for his 1993 smash “It Was A Good Day” hit follows the lyrics, from getting a triple-double on the court to seeing the Goodyear blimp (and other unmentionable diversions), often seated in his green 1964 Impala convertible. Appropriately tricked out, it’s the embodiment of West Coast style at the time – and even now, to an extent – with hydraulics and enough flash to dazzle even the most jaded of California onlookers. It’s also worth mentioning the car wasn’t even 30 years old at the time, meaning if an artist today trotted out something from 1995, it’d be of the same age. Your author needs to go lie down now.

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Snoop Dogg – 2002 Cadillac DeVille

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As one of the world’s best-known rappers, Snoop can choose to drive whatever he wants. Amongst the cars in his collection is a 2002 Cadillac he affectionately calls Snoop DeVille, looking tremendous in deep red paint with a white roof and period-correct aftermarket wheels. Snoop has also furnished cool Caddys to the likes of 50 Cent for use in a video, not to mention slipping mention of them in multiple bars plus penning an entire song using the brand as its title.

Lloyd Banks – 2006 Maybach 57S and 1992 Ford Tempo

In the video for “I’m So Fly” we find Banks rolling around the city in an mid-‘00s era Maybach, appropriate for the time. In a fit of intentionally entertaining special effects, he avoids a pair of government types staked out in a late model Lincoln Town Car by morphing the Maybach into a teal 1992 Ford Tempo. This pairs well with the type of camouflaging applied to his crib later in the video and you can bet this writer paused the DVR (remember those?) on that Tempo and grinned every time MuchMusic played this track.

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Biz Markie – 1990 Mazda MPV

Lest anyone think this post is entirely focused on West Coast rappers, we will point out Biz Markie took a shine to the Mazda MPV – yes, that square rear-wheel drive Japanese van with traditional forward-swinging doors – allegedly after sitting in one belonging to NYC acquaintance Rich Porter. This wasn’t a one-off purchase for laughs, either. The loaf-like van went on to enjoy some measure of success and recognition in the rap game, showing up in videos by Fat Joe, Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes, and others.

Classified, Maestro Fresh Wes – Ferrari F430 and Lambo Gallardo (sort of)

This pair of Canadian legends rapped “It’s Hard to Be Hip Hop” well over a decade ago but the notion about how constantly chasing the next big thing can lead to a life filled with fakery is even more true these days, especially in this age of Instagram influencers taking pictures of themselves on a European beach but are really just in a sandbox at their apartment. The video starts with the typical trappings of a rap video but quickly pulls back the cover to show the items are all scale-sized props – including the two cars. Genius.