DMX Trades Platinum for Skin, the Dogs Win
The rap flap that erupted earlier this week between ex-partners in promo warfare, rapper DMX and "Dogwear's” Eric Arginsky is amusing enough, but it leads to another more intriguing idea that animal issues have finally taken center stage, even if it is street theater.
Seems Arginsky's people didn't do their homework before they hired the muti-platinum shine of DMX to front their new line of "Urban Street Wear" for dogs. Trouble is the rap star, whose real name is Earl Simmons hailed as a famous dog lover also has a conviction for animal cruelty stemming from a 2002 case of neglect involving 14 Pit Bull Terriers. Simmons paid some fines, did a few community service announcements for the local SPCA and moved on.
Arginsky who has made a career manufacturing and distributing animal specialty novelty wear such as "Dogwear", a fashion line featuring leather and fur trimmed street wear for fido, was forced to drop DMX from his ad campaign. Lawsuits are pending. So far the worst of it seems to be that Bloodlines chatroom is down. Ya gotta wonder who's getting skinned in this free-for-all.
Ten years ago the "Dog Man" who wears a tattoo of one of his 'Pitts' on his back and features dog barks and growls in much of his music would have been the ideal pitchman, all right, I'll say it, "barker" for a line as trend silly as "Dogwear", the animal cruelty conviction only adding to his rep, not so today.
Today a company like Arginsky's can ill afford to offend the mainstream, even a bunch of streetwise 20 somethings with heads wired for hip-hop, a yen to grunge down and memories of puppies romping in the back yard of our collective conscience... or maybe DMX shouldn't risk his career on Arginsky. Up the dogs, let's hope they get a good lawyer.
Seems Arginsky's people didn't do their homework before they hired the muti-platinum shine of DMX to front their new line of "Urban Street Wear" for dogs. Trouble is the rap star, whose real name is Earl Simmons hailed as a famous dog lover also has a conviction for animal cruelty stemming from a 2002 case of neglect involving 14 Pit Bull Terriers. Simmons paid some fines, did a few community service announcements for the local SPCA and moved on.
Arginsky who has made a career manufacturing and distributing animal specialty novelty wear such as "Dogwear", a fashion line featuring leather and fur trimmed street wear for fido, was forced to drop DMX from his ad campaign. Lawsuits are pending. So far the worst of it seems to be that Bloodlines chatroom is down. Ya gotta wonder who's getting skinned in this free-for-all.
Ten years ago the "Dog Man" who wears a tattoo of one of his 'Pitts' on his back and features dog barks and growls in much of his music would have been the ideal pitchman, all right, I'll say it, "barker" for a line as trend silly as "Dogwear", the animal cruelty conviction only adding to his rep, not so today.
Today a company like Arginsky's can ill afford to offend the mainstream, even a bunch of streetwise 20 somethings with heads wired for hip-hop, a yen to grunge down and memories of puppies romping in the back yard of our collective conscience... or maybe DMX shouldn't risk his career on Arginsky. Up the dogs, let's hope they get a good lawyer.
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