Discovered in the heart of the Bronx in the early 70’s, rap and hip hop are a niche style of music that has evolved into a culture of its own. Representing the oppressed and the marginalized, hip hop and rap represent urban culture and street life. While today’s hip hop and rap representations have come a long way compared to the 70’s, they still stand for having an association with urban culture that has over time blended with luxury.
Below, we’ll take a look at the rich history of rap style and how it has developed into the icon it is today.
The beginnings of rap and hip-hop culture
Rap and hip-hop culture began at a block party in the Bronx when DJ Kool Herc introduced a new style of music which we now know as rap. Herc’s music originated out of the violence and crime that happened on the streets of New York, and particularity within the black community. Rap music was a way for those experiencing such issues to transcend their reality and speak out about what they were experiencing.
Street style
Since rap and hip hop represented marginalized communities, the clothes they wore were casual and baggy clothing that blended in with their urban environment. There were often statement shirts and popular slogans that represented what the artists and their communities stood for.
Styles like bomber jackets and stacked jeans became on trend for the hip hop crowd, with super stacked jeans still being popular among the hip hop and rap communities today. These casual styles represented the causal nature of hip hop and rap in the early days.
During the early days of rap and hip hop in New York, artists were wanting to wear designer brands such as Fendi and Louis Vuitton as it became a status symbol representing their success. These artists were finally able to afford designer clothes from the very people that had contributed to their marginalization, therefore making a statement to those around them that they had managed to free their chains and rise from the streets where they were born and grew up.
However, luxury European fashion brands were reluctant to have their names dragged into these sorts of street crowds and began to reject working with any hip hop or rap artists. One famous example occurred in 2002 Grammy nominated artist Ja Rule was launching his triple platinum album Pain is Love. Ja Rule’s stylist walked into a Burberry store in New York to request clothes for the photoshoot, in which she was met with hostility and rejection. While brands generally enjoy working with celebrities for the exposure, these luxury brands did not want their brand associated with ex drug dealers and criminals from the streets of the Bronx.
The introduction of Dapper Dan
Dapper Dan was a haberdasher who imported bootlegged materials and screen-printed logos onto luxury leather items. He is known for ‘blackening fashion. His designs stood for political-aesthetic resistance and self-realization, in which many of his original items were more expensive than the runway versions created by luxury European brands.
His items included bomber jackets and fur lined coats that featured unique bullet proof panels and hidden stash pockets.
Hip hop and rap fashion of today
While street style has come a long way in the rap and hip-hop cultures since the early days, it is still very much a representation of the oppressed and marginalized who rise up from the streets they fought to leave. Featuring slogan tees, bomber jackets and stacked jeans, street style is just as iconic today as it was back in the 70’s, only luxury European brands are now actively working with such artists as they slowly overcome misconceptions of this community.
Overall, rap and hip-hop style has a strong history which originated on the streets of the Bronx and even though it has evolved today, it still very much represents the origins of rap and hip hop and the artists that rose from nothing to huge success.