I stumbled upon this little news item the other day:

Executives at fast-food giant McDonalds have apparently noticed rappers habits of unabashedly shouting out brand names in their songs. While it’s usual Cristal or Jacob the Jeweller that gets the biggest mention, McDonalds is looking to change that shout-out to “Big Mac”. They’ve started a campaign that will give rappers incentives to start paying homage to the man with the big red afro.

If a rapper includes a mention of a Big Mac burger in their song, McDonald’s is willing to pay them $1-$5 for each time the song is played. No small matter, if someone like 50 Cent decides to jump on the bandwagon, McDonald’s could be paying rap artists millions upon millions of dollars.

I thought it was a bit ridiculous, but hey, it doesn’t affect me, right? I don’t listen to that crap anyway.

Then, yesterday, I was listening to Nellie McKay’s “Sari”, and this line hit me:

Sometimes I feel like I shouldn’t apologize so much

that it’s jive it’s a crutch

I just used when I’m judged

bein’ fudged by a face I can’t erase and can’t see

cuz I misplaced a dossier or Monty Python CD

or somethin’ stupid like that

but jesus is that so bad

to make my ego go splat

like a tire goin’ flat

or fat on a big mac

I’m bein’ attacked

tit for tat

you fuckin’ bureaucrats

you can just apologize back

And then I went ‘hmmmm’. As a dedicated vegan an animal rights activist, I would suspect that Ms McKay is unaware of this new deal. Or is she? If you ever get the chance to hear the album, you might realise that she is probably the least likely person to be in bed with McDonalds. But still, it is a mildly amusing thought…