Hip-Hop and Fashion: How They Impact Each Other
An Analysis of How Hip-Hop's Fashion Affects the Music
Oct 15, 2009
One of Hip-Hop’s pioneers Afrika Bambaataa defined Hip-Hop as being a culture that is made up of 4 aspects: DJing, MCing, graffiti, and break-dancing. Though all of these elements make up the building blocks of a genre that got its start more than 30-years ago there is one aspect that is missing from the bunch, fashion.
When music fans think about Hip-Hop surely the last thing that comes to mind is fashion. The artists of Hip-Hop are known to care more about their materialistic possessions such as their jewels, cars, and name brand attire; however, Hip-Hop has been known to make fashion statements even when they are not trying.
This was made very clear when Hip-Hop trio Run DMC popularized the Adidas brand. When the members of the group decided to wear their Adidas sneakers without the laces, so did Hip-Hop fans. When the group wore Kangol hats to the side, Hip-Hop fans followed in tow. Fashion within Hip-Hop holds a lot more power than most would believe; so much so, that the fashion in the genre may also play a big part in the evolution of its music.
80’s Fashion in Hip-Hop
The must have fashion pieces for the 1980’s in Hip-Hop were Adidas jumpsuits and sneakers, Kangol hats, gold rope chains, afro-centric attire, and three-finger rings. The music of the decade focused more on the trials and tribulations experienced by African-American’s living within the inner cities. The songs provided important messages to the listeners who were both familiar and unfamiliar with the lifestyle of minorities.
The Hip-Hop songs of the 80’s narrated stories and highlighted the skills of the ideal MCs. Though most of the songs were aimed at spreading a message, songs that were targeted at the youth who were more concerned with partying and having a good time were also recorded and made popular. Many classics came from this era including Run DMC’s “Walk This Way”, Special Ed’s “I Got It Made”, Big Daddy Kane’s “Smooth Operator” and LL Cool J’s “Bad.”
The fashion in Hip-Hop during the 80’s was flashy yet modest, allowing the artists to equally display their talent and their wealth with neither one outweighing the other.
Hip Hop’s Fashion in the 90’s
The 1990’s showed a major change in Hip Hop as well as its fashion. Instead of gold rope chains and Adidas jumpsuits, artists opted to wear ultra baggy jeans, chains that were made in the image of Jesus Christ as well as chains filled with precious diamonds, and the official introduction of the sweater line Coogi.
By this time, the genre had successfully expanded nationwide with the formal introduction of West coast rap known as Gangster Rap. With the new sub-genre, the West coast also pioneered their own fashion statements which consisted of Dickies, Converses, and bandanas.
Though there was still the presence of conscious Hip-Hop that aimed to remain the voice of the people, there was an onslaught of rap that focused more on boasting about prized possessions and songs that glorified violence.
Some would describe this time in Hip-Hop as a point when the culture began to see a negative change. The genre, however, began to see a rise in popularity with major record labels entering into bidding wars for new rappers searching for record deals.
Songs that were popular during this era were Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy”, Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice”, Tupac Shakur’s “Keep Ya Head Up” and Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life.”
Hip-Hop’s Fashion in the New Millennium
With the new millennium came a new state of mind for a lot of Hip-Hop artists and their fashion sense. The 21st century has opened the doors to Hip-Hop in the southern part of the country allowing artists from that region to dominate the music charts. Gone are the excessive jewelry and need for name brand clothing; they were eventually replaced with simple diamond pieces and plain white T-shirts and jeans worn modestly.
Though baggy jeans continued to reign supreme in the genre, the addition of close-fitting jeans and shirts have also been introduced. Rappers are now known to dibble dabble in what is being described as “geek wear” – which includes large black rimmed glasses. Bright colors have also found its way into the genre with the embrace of the usually feminine color pink.
The music has become futuristic with the use of the auto-tunes software made popular by Hip-Hop artist T-Pain, who has been credited for re-introducing its presence into music. The focus is no longer primarily aimed at being lyrical; artists are more concerned with how much appeal a beat has. It is now believed that a song can rely heavily on a decent beat and less on the lyrics to be a success.
Hip-Hop and fashion correlate in more ways than many may believe. The appeal of both the genre and its fashion allows Hip-Hop artists to not only stand as trendsetters with their fashion choices, but also as innovators courtesy of their music.
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