Take a deep breath and jump into the Wayback machine, because here is a throwback of 6 Trends That Ruled The ‘90s Hip Hop Scene. Just realize that while much of the '90s has returned to our collective closets you're definitely not seeing men dressed like this on the regular rap radar. From the designers catering to and honoring the music that's driven Jordans and Timbs into the forefront of fashion, rappers have a completely different relationship with fashion.

His Jordan Brand line of sneakers and apparel were a status symbol on the streets.īucket hats, timbs, and lightwash denim are as big now as they ever were, but there's a new layer of fashion awareness that's affected rappers across the genre making hip-hop one of fashion's most exciting new frontiers. Jordan was a style icon in his own right. The basketball league’s stars developed from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson. If one needed more proof that hip-hop wasn’t just about the music but the lifestyle and attitude it represented, look no further than how NBA style has evolved. Moguls like Russell Simmons and Puff Daddy decided to start their own clothing lines rather than to give into designers outside of the culture. Daymond John founded his FUBU label and got LL Cool J to wear one of his hats and shout the brand out during a Gap commercial in a legendary moment of marketing inception. Graffiti artists like Mark Ecko, Stash, and KAWS turned T-shirts into a canvas for their work. The ’90s and early ’00s were marked by a time of streetwear and “urban” brands born out of hip-hop culture. For those trailblazing artists who grew up between crime and violence, whose music helped them go beyond their place of birth and their lack of opportunities, European luxury brands were the original flex a middle finger to a society that had written them off and a diamond-dripping, mink-trimmed embodiment of the American Dream for the people who bought their records. Its look mattered as much as the sound, partly as an expression of self-identity, partly as shorthand for success. Hip-hop has been a voice for the insignificantly treated. For all of today's throwbacks to the classic styles that ruled the scene 20 years ago, today the scene definitely looks different than it did back in the days of Tupac, Aaliyah and Biggie. Without a doubt, we can all agree that hip-hop style has changed since the '90s.

“Your coming of age is about representing who you are, and hip-hop music contains a message - it tells a story about who you are - and what you wear is also proof of it,” - Nasir Jones, a.k.a.

90s hip hop fashion store