For the first time ever, peanut butter became the most talked about thing in the rap community. Yes, you heard that right, peanut butter and rap.

But let’s start from the beginning...

Jif knew that music is a huge part of culture for our younger target consumers. Through social listening, we stumbled on a hotly contested debate that linked rap’s newer sound, often referred to as “mumble rap”, to peanut butter. Some rap fans of the older generation have said the new generation sounds like they rap with a mouthful of peanut butter. So how did Jif unite them? With a mouthful of peanut butter and the perfect mix of influencers.

To garner both earned media buzz and social chatter, we did the impossible: we brought legendary rapper, Ludacris, out of a 6-year hiatus and teamed him up with one of today’s hottest “mumble” rappers, Gunna, to create The Lil Jif Project, placing the brand in the center of the generational debate.

First, Ludacris released, “Butter.Atl” and took listeners and fans by complete surprise. Rather than rap with his usual articulation and flow, he created a track that was more in line with the rappers of today – switching from his usual lyrical rhymes to unclear vocal delivery over a slow tempo, giving it a mumbled, peanut butter sound. A true departure from his traditional roots.

The change of style had everyone talking and all the major hip hop news outlets interested. Finally, we revealed through the film “The Return” that his new flow was inspired by a mouthful of Jif. To top it off, Gunna gives it his stamp of approval as we witness Ludacris’s epic rise into mumble rap stardom.

Once we revealed Jif was behind Ludacris’s new sound, fans from both sides came together on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, praising the song, film and bold idea itself. But, if we wanted people to truly embrace modern rap through the power of peanut butter, we needed to take it to where music is expressed most widely today, TikTok. And rather than push content, we wanted fans to create…with a mouthful of Jif. Ludacris kicked off the #JifRapChallenge, inviting TikTokers to duet him. We also tapped six of TikTok’s top creators to rap with Ludacris and encourage others to do the same. Amateur rappers around the world were quick to respond. Teens, moms, radio stations and even animals took up the challenge. And just like the peanut butter itself, people couldn’t get enough of it, with TikTok calling the #JifRapChallenge one of the biggest culture drivers in 2021.