We The North or We "Are" The North?

[stooley]

I think We The North comes from Drake. Well, technically it comes from Sid Lee, but really it's a play from Drake's "Best I Ever Had" song.

There's a hook in it that goes: "You the fuckin best, you the fuckin best". On the radio, they changed this annoying song to "You the you the best, you the you the best". Which btw, as corny as it sounds, got me repeating it myself within 2 minutes of hearing this song on the radio.

Similar to "We The North", it could have been "We ARE the north" or the song could have been "You ARE the (fuckin) best", but that doesn't sound as hip and that's what all these hip hopsters are all about -- sounding hip. Am I right?

So that's where We The North comes from. Case closed.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how serious were you about this?

[Pill]

Yeah the "Brooklyn" chant sounds more like a taunt, like in hockey when fans get into the head of opposing goalies.

That is exactly what is sounds like.

[ebrian]

On a scale from 1 to 10, how serious were you about this?

I'd say about 9.5... why do you ask?

[stooley]

I'd say about 9.5... why do you ask?

Ok well "we the best" and other such grammatical errors are incredibly common in hip-hop culture which has a wide reaching influence on NBA culture, so I'm not sure we can pin down Drake's radio version song as the origin lol.

[ebrian]

Ok well "we the best" and other such grammatical errors are incredibly common in hip-hop culture which has a wide reaching influence on NBA culture, so I'm not sure we can pin down Drake's radio version song as the origin lol.

You're not sure? So you're saying the advertising firm hired to re-brand the franchise unequivocally did not consult with the team's global ambassador to come up with the new slogan?

[stooley]

You're not sure? So you're saying the advertising firm hired to re-brand the franchise unequivocally did not consult with the team's global ambassador to come up with the new slogan?

No I'm just saying that the McDonald's slogan didn't come from Tonight I'm Lovin You by Enrique Iglesias lol.

it's just, like, a super common phrase.

drake and every other rapper probably say "we the [something]" in every single song

[ebrian]

Yeah the "Brooklyn" chant sounds more like a taunt, like in hockey when fans get into the head of opposing goalies.

I had the same thought. Repeating the 5th tone to 3rd tone is a really weird way to express encouragement towards something although it works if you add "Lets Go" in between. They really should think about changing it up.. unless it's just too many words for the fans to figure out.

[KeonClark]

On a scale from 1 to 10, how serious were you about this?

Lol

[stooley]

I had the same thought. Repeating the 5th tone to 3rd tone is a really weird way to express encouragement towards something although it works if you add "Lets Go" in between. They really should think about changing it up.. unless it's just too many words for the fans to figure out.

Yeah it sounds weird.

I'm gonna reference my rap knowledge again here lol.

Is it on a Biggie song? Or it could have been somewhere else, but there's a famous rap song with that "Brooooklynnnn" chant repeated in the beat.

[iblastoff]

I think We The North comes from Drake. Well, technically it comes from Sid Lee, but really it's a play from Drake's "Best I Ever Had" song.

There's a hook in it that goes: "You the fuckin best, you the fuckin best". On the radio, they changed this annoying song to "You the you the best, you the you the best". Which btw, as corny as it sounds, got me repeating it myself within 2 minutes of hearing this song on the radio.

Similar to "We The North", it could have been "We ARE the north" or the song could have been "You ARE the (fuckin) best", but that doesn't sound as hip and that's what all these hip hopsters are all about -- sounding hip. Am I right?

So that's where We The North comes from. Case closed.

definitely not from drake. we the _____ is a staple saying in a lot of speeches. 'we the people' being the most obvious.

[ebrian]

No I'm just saying that the McDonald's slogan didn't come from Tonight I'm Lovin You by Enrique Iglesias lol.

it's just, like, a super common phrase.

drake and every other rapper probably say "we the [something]" in every single song

You're correct, it's not from Enrique Iglesius. It's from Justin Timberlake.

"Probably" doesn't give me a lot of confidence in your statement. I don't know a lot of rap songs, but I'm pretty sure "we/you the [something]" is NOT in most songs.

I don't see the purpose of this argument. I'm pretty sure my post gives a possible answer to the OP's question.

[ogi]

You're correct, it's not from Enrique Iglesius. It's from Justin Timberlake.

"Probably" doesn't give me a lot of confidence in your statement. I don't know a lot of rap songs, but I'm pretty sure "we/you the [something]" is NOT in most songs.

I don't see the purpose of this argument. I'm pretty sure my post gives a possible answer to the OP's question.

But it is... Honestly. Try googling we the (best, flyest, greatest etc). You'll see.

[ebrian]

definitely not from drake. we the _____ is a staple saying in a lot of speeches. 'we the people' being the most obvious.

Actually I'd go back to the rap roots on this one.. I don't think We The North comes from We The People. We the People is actually grammatically correct.. if I'm not mistake it's in the preamble of the American Constitution written by their founding fathers.

My belief is that We The North is intentionally and purposefully designed to cater to hip hop language/culture, as Stooley suggests. The purpose is to sound cool, not constitutional. Believe me, as a 35+ year old, I did not need a cool new slogan to give me a reason to latch onto the Toronto Raptors. When you're my age, you either like them or you don't. It's almost certainly targeted towards a younger generation, and that generation is predominantly at a more impressionable age that such a slogan would appeal to them.

[stooley]

You're correct, it's not from Enrique Iglesius. It's from Justin Timberlake.

"Probably" doesn't give me a lot of confidence in your statement. I don't know a lot of rap songs, but I'm pretty sure "we/you the [something]" is NOT in most songs.

I don't see the purpose of this argument. I'm pretty sure my post gives a possible answer to the OP's question.

I just kind of laughed to myself is all.

It's a really specific answer for a very wide spread phraseology lol.

Your point about it referencing hiphop/"cool" culture is definitely on point though.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=we+th...m=122&ie=UTF-8

"we the best" isn't even uniquely drake

[ps77]

I think We The North comes from Drake. Well, technically it comes from Sid Lee, but really it's a play from Drake's "Best I Ever Had" song.

There's a hook in it that goes: "You the fuckin best, you the fuckin best". On the radio, they changed this annoying song to "You the you the best, you the you the best". Which btw, as corny as it sounds, got me repeating it myself within 2 minutes of hearing this song on the radio.

Similar to "We The North", it could have been "We ARE the north" or the song could have been "You ARE the (fuckin) best", but that doesn't sound as hip and that's what all these hip hopsters are all about -- sounding hip. Am I right?

So that's where We The North comes from. Case closed.

Found a few articles on Sid Lee and their campaign. Apparently, it's suppose to be "We, the North" and not "We The North." Some interesting points from this article:

Sid Lee and MLSE chose a mantra they feel is both broadly Canadian an unapologetically Toronto, aimed at turning the city’s unique position as the NBA’s only Canadian team into a rallying point for players and fans.

“We have 35 million people we’d like to represent and we’re asking for their support,” says MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke. “No question that it’s about urban Toronto. But our audience is all of Toronto and that’s one of the reasons we’re having the resurgence we’re having.”

The ad acknowledges the franchise’s past, featuring a shot of a husky dogs trotting onto a blacktop court – the Toronto Huskies played the 1946-47 season in a league that would later become the NBA.

Highlights from this season emphasize the club’s present and future, and hard-edged urban scenes from across the city celebrate Toronto and its basketball folklore.

There’s a shot of Regent Park, and another with “Jane and Finch” spray painted in graffiti-style block letters. And there’s one more of a shirtless player in a game of one-on-one. Tattooed across his back are the numbers “416.”

Cameras capture players on an outdoor court on Bleecker St. in St. Jamestown and another game at the cramped gym at Eastern Commerce C.I., each spot equally resonant with people familiar with Toronto’s hoops culture.

“We wanted to do something that was true to Toronto as a city, true to the people…and true to the vision that (general manager) Masai Ujiri and Tim (Leiweke) have for the team,” says Dustin Rideout, Sid Lee’s vice president of strategy. “Any sports team is not just selling tickets. They’re selling memberships, and that’s what we wanted to champion.”

Leiweke says the campaign was slated to start in 2015 as a lead-in to the 2016 NBA All-Star game, which the Raptors will host. But he says as this year’s club transformed from an afterthought to an overachiever it embodied the message the new ad intends to convey, so the club decided to move the launch date to this spring.

“Without even looking at the campaign the team became ‘We, the North,’” Leiweke says. “This is too great an opportunity. The team has taken on the personality of the campaign without even knowing the campaign. We’ve gotta go.”

Leiweke says the coming phases of the team’s top-to-bottom rebranding will unfold over then next 18 months. The team will sport new uniforms in the 2015-16 season, but the new gear should be available commercially by the end of this year.

The team won’t see the full ad until Thursday morning and while Leiweke is confident players will love it, it’s still not clear how it will play outside the Raptors locker room.

Chicago-based sports marketing consultant Quency Phillips points out that while gritty images of inner-city ballers will sway some fans, the NBA itself shies away from the tattooed swagger and streetball-style play the ad showcases.

“You’re inviting the whole audience to come see a style that’s not representative of the NBA,” says Phillips, president and CEO of the Que Agency. “But it is something that’s so urban – that’s what this speaks to.”

But Rideout says reconciling those opposed ideas is part of the ad’s appeal.

“This is about getting people exited about owning a place,” he says. “It’s about celebrating that. It’s very much a declaration of pride about being from a specific area.”

I have friends across the country and while they're happy that the Raptors are doing well, they quite honestly don't give a crap about the team. Leiweke has gone on record as wanting the Raptors to be "Canada's team" and he stated:

“I look at the Blue Jays and I have a great respect for them and the fact that all of Canada follows the Blue Jays — it’s not the same with the Raptors and I get that. We are Toronto’s team, but I think we have to learn how to be Canada’s team,” Leiweke said.

It seems we have a disconnect with Leiweke's vision and what the agency pushed out as it's more urban Toronto-centric. Does the ad and moniker really resonate with the folks in Winnipeg, the Maritimes or even the GTA's multicultural base?

In the video narrative, it goes:

"In many ways we are in a league of our own...
Far from the East side.
Miles from the West side.
No where near the South Side."

It's as if MLSE-Raptors want to isolate themselves as opposed to embracing the people of British Columbia and the Maritimes. Seems like a lost opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of Canadians especially after the celebration of the double-gold hockey teams in Sochi. Sure, winning solves a lot of problems, but until we win it all (which won't be for some time) the Raptors will remain stuck as (urban) Toronto's team.