Good Job, Marketing: How Larry June Built a Chart-Topping Brand

Larry June, Doing It for Me (2024)

In a world full of quick soundbites, TikTok-sized attention spans, and musicians who seem to appear on the charts out of nowhere - the work, consistency, and determination of the hardworking few, always come to light. 

At the leading edge of this ‘get it out the trunk’ community is where you can find Larry June.

Larry June is a hip-hop artist from San Francisco, CA. His lyrics are laid-back, hustle-inspired, and easy to nod your head to. Recognized for his ‘organic’ ethos, June has had a road to the top that puts a smile on the face of every hustler worldwide. Before gracing festival stages, topping the charts, and selling out tours, there was Larry June - in a San Francisco parking lot, selling fresh-pressed orange juice, alongside his mixtape CDs, out of the trunk of his car.

Every main character has a hero’s journey, but no one has a story like June’s. Despite being burnt on record deals and rejected by the mainstream, June found a way to persevere and rise to the top of the rap game. 

This takes hard work and talent - we all know this. But work and talent only can take you so far in a commercial setting.

Before ‘personal branding’ became a buzzword, Larry June perfected the craft. Today, we will walk through how Larry June has stood the test of time in a crowded music market: his marketing. A master at branding, community engagement, and creating a world for his fanbase, June is the best marketer in hip-hop. 

Gaffer (2023)

Brand Consistency & Experience

The most impressive thing about June’s career - he has stayed consistent for over a decade. Of course, he has adapted to the times, but his ethos remains the same.

June has created an ‘organic’ world. If you’re a fan of June, you immediately associate him with oranges. He’s always been health-conscious - not heavily spoken about in rap music - and he’s made this his brand. Oranges canvas his album covers, stage backdrops, merch, and even song titles. Pair this with his health-conscious lyrics - about smoothies, jogging, biking, nature, etc. - he built a world for his fans to live in. 

This brand experience extends beyond headphones. Everything June-related is accompanied by a ‘healthy & organic’ token or message. 

Larry June, Spaceships on the Blade (2022)

Beyond this content, he vocalizes his entrepreneurial struggles, victories, and luxuries of his now-lavish lifestyle. All by way of hard work. 

June has an impressive ability to blend past with future while carving out a community for his fans. It's more than music for the average fan - they see themselves in June. In hustler context and health-conscious context. He created this world for his tribe to exist, and they found him. But not without him inviting them in.

Brand consistency allows consumers to recognize and relate to the brand, more and more over time, further strengthening the brand. Over the past decade, June has done the same.

Authenticity & Relatability

The best part of this world is its authentic to him as an individual. He actually drinks smoothies. He actually rides his bike. He actually walks and talks with his people.

We know this because we see it. Scrolling June’s Instagram profile, you can often see him riding his bike, working out, gracing board rooms, and living lavishly. However, he doesn’t shy away from his humble past. You don’t have to search far to know where he came from and the dedication it took to get to where he is today - listen to any track of his. 

Every brand and business needs to be authentic to resonate with potential customers. Consumers can tell inauthenticity from miles away. We often see inauthenticity from brands, and those campaigns are pulled quickly when they don’t resonate. As consumers, we don’t have the bandwidth for inauthenticity anymore. We can sniff it out too quickly.

Larry June (2024)

This is why June is effective - we know his brand is true to him. 

Beyond that, it's relatable. Unlike many of his peers, he doesn’t rap about things that are out of reach of the average listener (and when he does, it's paired with free game on how to do it). The average listener can do what he does: wake up at 5 am, ride 10 miles on their bike, do push-ups before breakfast, make that phone call, flip that paycheck, start that business, etc. It might take a little hard work, but that's what his community inherently understands. We like to get after it too. 

Consumers trust brands that are authentic and relatable - thus increasing brand loyalty and deepening brand affinity. A strategy that June has perfected.

Community Engagement

Every great brand understands the power of community. It's one thing to show up digitally - but the successful ones show up in real life, in front of their consumers, walking and talking with them directly. 

Cultivating a community is great - but activating them is where the wins come. In the music world, nobody engages with their community better than June.

He started his career with hand-to-hand sales, ‘out the trunk’, through a process June calls ‘ground patrol’. To this day, ground patrol is still an ethos in his career, through various activations.

June creates space for his community to interact with his world, meet like-minded individuals, and grow. He executes this in a few ways.

Beyond touring, June makes his merch a priority. By hosting ‘market’ style pop-up shops, fans in various cities can shop his apparel in real life, often with the opportunity to meet Larry at some point. 

June has hosted a variety of activations, my personal favorite being his bike meet-ups. In August of 2024, he hosted a bike meet in SF, to accompany the rollout of his new album, both of which were met with a great reception. Of course, he was there, riding his bike around town with his fans. 

Larry June (2024)

Within his community, he’s revealed exclusive opportunities for his most loyal fans, creating FOMO amongst the rest of the public. Whether this be early ticket access, exclusive products, or special fan experiences. 

Beyond all these engagements, June is accessible. He’s truly outside with his community. All of your favorite brands can take notes from June’s community engagement strategy.

Every consumer wants to be seen, welcomed, and appreciated by their favorite brands. Artists are no different. And when your favorite artist feels like one of your own, you’re that much more loyal to their art.

Integrated Approach

Another strong aspect of June’s marketing strategy is his integrated approach. June pops up cross-channel. You can find his world on all social channels, streaming platforms, websites, email lists, and any other digital touchpoint you can imagine.

His consistency across channels is felt, although each piece of content is tailored to the platform - a must in today’s market.

Through this, June can meet his fans wherever they are, regardless of the platform. Making it even harder for the fairweather fan to escape him. 

We see this from many major-label artists, but they also have the horsepower of major labels. Larry June built his empire independently, flipping his funds to battle for the mindshare of consumers amongst the label heavyweights. The scrappiness in his early years laid the groundwork to catch up to the major label artists - in a much more relatable approach, deepening that trust amongst his fans.

Product-Market Fit

His entire strategy is connected - and his product-market fit is the clearest example.

He’s created a world for his community. He’s activated them. But what keeps them there?

His product-market fit. His product (music) is so deeply aligned with the community he’s fostered. But it's what he has done to extend that product and keep his community engaged, that is even more impressive.

June’s product extensions have stretched far and wide. His merch brand, Midnight Organic, stands separate from his music and spans many lifestyle products. Beyond hats, hoodies, and shirts - Midnight Organic has put out handbags, suitcases, candles, lighter cases, and more.

Midnight Organic (2024)

The most impressive part is that his name is removed from the brand (although still synonymous with it). Midnight Organic can therefore reach beyond June’s fanbase, bringing more folks into his world.

June owns a Boba Tea shop in SF, Honeybear Boba, serving as another brand extension, leaning into the truest sense of ‘organic’. His shop sees visitors from far and wide, and additionally, brings more folks into his fold.

June has collaborated with brands such as Lakai, to stretch his reach further. Beyond music collaborations, where many artists stop, June has used product collaborations to grow his community. 

These all act as individual brands that serve the parent brand (June himself). We see this strategy from big brands every day - i.e. Nike, Apple, Google - because it's a strategy that works. June has simply found a way to replicate that strategy in his industry.

From a marketing perspective, Larry June’s success lies in his ability to create a cohesive brand experience that extends beyond his music. Aligning his lifestyle, music content, and business ventures, he’s created an all-encompassing brand that resonates deeply with his target audience and community. His community-building approach focuses on consistent engagement, providing value, and creating a sense of shared identity among his fans.

Pair all of this with a phenomenal product - his music - it's hard to argue that Larry June isn’t the best marketer in hip-hop.

Good job, Larry. And Good job, marketing.