Forget meatballs, now Ikea is 'selling' Swedish Hip-Hop

Since Ikea first opened in the U.S. in the 1980s it's been introducing Americans to the joys of Scandinavian design; blond wood, Billy bookcases and Ektorp sofas are all now commonplace sights in American homes. Its famous Swedish meatballs are popular too and now the retailer is trying to entice Americans with a musical import: Swedish hip-hop. In a campaign by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, at this weekend's Boston Calling, a three-day music/comedy/films festival at Harvard's Athletic Complex, the Ikea Music Lab will present Sweden's most interesting and progressive R&B and hip-hop artists. These include Cherrie, Jaqe, Sammy & Johnny Bennett, Michel Dida, DJ Finest, DJ TRANS94 and DJ Robin Kadir. Experimental Swedish performance group, Teenage Engineering Sound System, will also perform throughout the festival, while attendees will also get a chance to sample products from Ikea's upcoming party collection, Frekvens, and taste its new veggie dog before both appear in stores in 2019. To promote the festival, CP&B created a video, seen here, in which consumers pick up a packaged box of "Swedish HIP HÃ–P" from one of its stores. Ikea has also worked with music journalist Ametist Azordegan, known as the "Godmother of Swedish Hip-Hop," to curate a Spotify playlist to introduce music fans to its sound.

Forget meatballs, now Ikea is 'selling' Swedish Hip-Hop

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