If you’re still holding on to your MC Hammer pants or turning your wall clocks pendants and putting them into chains like Flava Flav then this article is going to be a rude awakening for you. With hip hop becoming as much about fashion as it is about music, designer labels like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada have weaved its way into rap lyrics as seamlessly as their clothes. Hip hop fashion has changed so much since the time of baggy pants and oversized shirts and has morphed into a mix of street style and couture.
So if you want to be fly, get yourself a dose some hip hop style, just take some quick notes from these famous rap superstar styles.
When Hip Hop Meets Pop
Not all rap artists wear baggy jeans and a plain white shirt. A new breed of artists mix a little bit of pop not just in their songs, but also in their outfits. It makes it more palatable to a larger audience because their look is more accessible. For example by putting a vest over a plain shirt makes it more dressier. All you have to do is just take a regular t-shirt and put a vest over it to instantly add some style points. To up the ante up a bit, you can also add hats, so with the vest over shirt look you can also top it off with a fedora or a pageboy hat to put the look together.
When Hip Hop Meets Couture
More and more artists are either becoming a front row fixture at some of the most high-fashion runway shows or launching their own designer labels. But don’t worry, these artists aren’t losing their street credibility one bit. Most of the time they’d be wearing well-tailored suits with Dolce and Gabbana sneakers or a pair of worn out jeans and a shirt totting Louis Vuitton luggage. They’re still the same hard-hitting rappers only in better, way more expensive, clothing.
When Hip Hop Meets Nerds
With the advent of more electronica, auto tune and sample-laden songs, more rap stars are also turning into geeks. You can see the influence of technology, gaming and the internet in their choice of hip hop jewelry which consists of Super Mario stars, skateboards and ice cream cones. The look is quite easy as it is easy going. The staples are sneakers, a shirt, bling and tight jeans with a touch of preppy that sometimes include sweaters over button down shirts and even a bow tie.
When Hip Hop Meets the Crazy
I won’t name names, but some artists really give the term crazy fashion a whole different meaning. Over the years we’ve seen them wear anything from trash bags while riding a small jeep, a pink troll-inspired hairstyle paired with Versace knee-high gladiator sandals while taking a dip in a pink swimming pool and sometimes just pasties to cover what needs to be covered. But one thing’s for sure, their rhymes are just as crazy as their fashion choices.