in Germany, 2005.]] Hip-hop fashion is a distinctive style of dress originating with African-American youth on the scene of New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, Memphis, Atlanta, Jersey City and Miami among others. Each city contributed various elements to its overall style seen worldwide today. Hip hop fashion complements the expressions and attitudes of hip hop culture in general. Hip hop fashion has changed significantly during its history, and today, it is a prominent part of popular fashion as a whole across the world and for all ethnicities.

Early 1980s to Mid-1980s

In the early 1980s, established sportswear and fashion brands, such as Le Coq Sportif, Kangol, Adidas and Pro-Keds attached themselves to the emerging hip hop scene.

During the 1980s, hip-hop icons wore clothing items such as brightly colored name-brand tracksuits, sheepskin and leather bomber jackets, or Gazelles), Kangol bucket hats, In general, men's jewelry focused on heavy gold chains and women's jewelry on large gold earrings.

1980s hip hop fashion is remembered as one of the most important elements of old school hip hop, and it is often celebrated in nostalgic hip hop songs such as Ahmad's 1994 single "Back in the Day", and Missy Elliott's 2002 single "Back in the Day".

Late 1980s to early 1990s fashion

Black nationalism was increasingly influential in rap during the late 1980s, and fashions and hairstyles reflected traditional African influences. Models wore black catsuits, "gold chains, big gold nameplate-inspired belts, and black bomber jackets with fur-trimmed hoods." Mafioso influences, especially and primarily inspired by the 1983 remake version of Scarface, became popular in hip hop. Many rappers set aside gang-inspired clothing in favor of classic gangster fashions such as bowler hats, When Snoop Doggy Dogg wore a Hilfiger sweatshirt during an appearance on Saturday Night Live, it sold out of New York City stores the next day.

Other brands, such as Nike FUBU, Reebok Pro-Keds, Adidas, Ecko Unlimited, Mecca USA, Lugz, Rocawear, harputs by Gus Harput, Boss Jeans by IG Design, and Enyce, arose to capitalize on the market for urban streetwear.

Throwback jerseys

and Juelz Santana of Dipset.]]

One sportswear trend that emerged was the rise in popularity of throwback jerseys, such as those produced by Mitchell & Ness. Sports jerseys have always been popular in hip-hop fashion, as evidenced by Will Smith's early 90's video "Summertime", and Spike Lee wearing a throwback Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in the film "Do the Right Thing." The late 90's saw the rise in popularity of very expensive throwbacks, often costing hundreds of dollars. Hip-hop artists donning the pricey jerseys in music videos led to increased demand, and led to the rise of counterfeiters flooding the market with fake jerseys to capitalize on the craze. The mid-to-late 2000s saw a decrease in popularity of throwbacks, with some hip-hop artists even shunning the raiments, such as Jay-Z, who rapped "And I don't wear jerseys, I'm 30-plus, Give me a crisp pair of jeans, Button up." In 1990 it was very big part for fashion because of all the hip hop artists that wore the various throwback jerseys.

The "hip-pop" era also saw the split between male and female hip hop fashion, which had previously been more or less similar. Women in hip hop had emulated the male tough-guy fashions such as baggy pants, "Loc" sunglasses, tough looks and heavy workboots; many, such as Da Brat, accomplished this with little more than some lip gloss and a bit of make-up to make the industrial work pants and work boots feminine. The female performers who completely turned the tide such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown popularized glamorous, high-fashion feminine hip hop styles, such as Kimora Lee Simmons fashion line of Baby Phat. While Lauryn Hill and Eve popularized more conservative styles that still maintained both a distinctly feminine and distinctly hip hop feel.

Jewelry culture

In the mid- to late 1990s, platinum replaced gold as the metal of choice in hip hop fashion. Notable examples include Wu-Tang Clan (Wu-Wear), Russell Simmons (Phat Farm), Kimora Lee Simmons (Baby Phat), Diddy (Sean John), TI (AKOO), Nelly (Apple Bottom Jeans), Damon Dash and Jay-Z (Rocawear), 50 Cent (G-Unit Clothing), Eminem (Shady Limited), 2Pac (Makaveli) and OutKast (OutKast Clothing). Other prominent hip hop fashion companies have included Karl Kani, FUBU, Eckō, Girbaud, Enyce, Famous Stars and Straps, Bape, Billionaire Boys Club, Beans, Ciara, Erykah Badu (Starter Clothing Line), LRG, Timberland Boots, Akademiks and Southpole.

Websites like RateMyFresh.Com do a great job of showcasing the new fashion styles and trends in the Hip Hop Society. However, up and coming urban clothing lines have dominated the fashion in the Hip-Hop genre. Baggy Pants and Skinny Low jeans also came into style due to New Boyz's jerk dance from the song "Your a Jerk."

wearing a t-shirt and tight jeans]]

The hip hop fashion trends of the 2000s were all over the place and changed constantly. During these years there was a heavy celebrity influence among fashion trends. Hip Hop artists made brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton popular amongst the hip hop community, where most initially used hip hop as a way to a better life. Throughout these years many fashion trends from the 80's and early 90's were made popular again, when we see the rebirth of the door knocker earring and form fitting jeans for males. We also see bright colors being used and cartoon graphic print hoodies by Bathing Ape made popular by artist and producer Pharrell. Females could not get enough of high heels in all different forms and many ideas were crossed and we saw things like the open toed boot.

Criticism of hip hop fashion

wearing a zip-up hoodie and checkerboard frame sunglasses.]] Commentators from both inside and outside the hip-hop community have criticized the cost of many of the accoutrements of hip hop fashion. Chuck D of Public Enemy summarized the mentality of Hip hop fashion and some low-income youths as "Man, I work at McDonald's, but in order for me to feel good about myself I got to get a gold chain or I got to get a fly car in order to impress a sister or whatever." In his 1992 song "Us", Ice Cube rapped that "Us niggaz will always sing the blues / 'cause all we care about is hairstyles and tennis shoes.Hip-hop take out their pocket to shows that their from the street to make money.For bboys ,it's means they representing the foundation of hip-hop(oldskool hip-hop)" Some fans have expressed disappointment with the increased amount of advertising for expensive hip-hop brands in hip-hop magazines. In fact, there were many highly-publicized robberies of hip-hop artists by the late 1990s.

Influence of Graffiti

Graffiti culture is a subunit of Hip Hop culture, but both equally influence the other. Graffiti can be considered a rebellious art, a form of expression that violated the norms of society, an outcry to the social injustices that surround us. Graffiti has blurred the lines between vandalism and pure art, but who is to say what is or isn’t art? Art is a form of expression upon any surface that is created and maintained by an individual. The conception that graffiti is vandalism lies within the graffiti artist’s choice of a canvas. “Graffiti, an art form that was not recognized as “art” until more recent years, has made its mark on the fashion world.” (Cooper, R.) Graffiti culture originated in the late 1960’s, which also correlates to an upheaval in the fashion industry. The 1960’s embodied a feeling of youth, idealism, and liberation. “The fashion trends not only fostered a means of self-expression and identity but it was also representative of social and political trends” (Schwartz).

Corporate Influence

Hip Hop fashion began to interest major corporations, as a highly valuable marketing strategy. Hip Hops "against the norm" persona was admired by the rebellious youth. This idea of played a huge role in marketing products. A mainstream culture is one that transitions from trend to trend in order to fit in with the majority of society. “Being mainstream is being what society thinks you should be, and look like.” A mainstream outlook on graffiti can economize the message, but most graffiti writers progressively evolve to make their message known. “Graffiti can never become too mainstream because it is an activity, not a style” (OBEY). The contradiction that is placed on graffiti when a corporation influences the message exists because true graffiti is the act of putting your work on the street for everyone to see, without compromise. “It’s about a pure uncompromisable manifestation of your art and ideas whether people like it or not.” (OBEY) This new corporate fascination with graffiti blurs those lines, because in order for something to become mainstream it must compromise and forfeit to the rules and norms of society, but this is everything that graffiti deviates from. Therefore, this new corporate graffiti may in fact be an expression and an art, but graffiti today is no longer the graffiti that the original artists had intended to showcase. Today, graffiti has maintained a mainstream approach, being used in advertising that conditions children to view society where graffiti is glorified and implicitly linked to their aspirations. The surrounding atmosphere is constantly influencing fashion; it was only a matter of time before the vibrant designs that encompass graffiti influenced the retail market. Once considered an act of vandalism, graffiti is now being widely accepted as an art form that has tagged the gritty streets of cities to embellishing high-fashion labels, such as Louis Vuitton. “Traditionally graffiti was influenced by fashion in its early iconography because it was so loosely tied to hip-hop.” (OBEY) Graffiti is currently associated with forward thinking brands. In Japan, the vibrant designs, block letters, and innovation are not only themes that are represented in the graffiti but are also now being adopted into their current fashion trends. In the United States, tribal designs are also having the same effect. Many brands that adopt graffiti into their products retain the assumptions that graffiti is an innovation, an evolving progression that is ahead of the curve. In order to represent that in the product, corporations must recognize that there needs to be a controlled environment with no compelling products to deviate from the message. For graffiti to meet fashion, it must represent the original message with no corporate regulation, in order to retain the true concepts of graffiti. “Lately, I think fashion influences graffiti more in exposing people that don’t live in big city to graffiti. Everyone has MTV. If Graffiti writers don’t like where fashion takes the culture then they just need to stay a step ahead.” (OBEY) Graffiti’s image has undergone several mutations that have altered the popularity in a larger societal context. Corporate conglomerations are increasing the usage of graffiti in marketing campaigns, due to graffiti’s ability to reach target markets. This valuable counter-culture identity is what captivates the teenage population of today. Graffiti has become a transition point for most teens, being captivated by the images presented to them both on the street and from corporate America. Girls have been fascinated by the graffiti tags stitched to major brands such as Victoria Secret clothing. Boys were originally drawn into the graffiti culture by the Sprite campaign, which focused on the glamour and popularity associated within that culture, and were captivated again by the adventurous and rebel brands of Burton snowboards. These ‘cause and effect’ patterns that are implemented by corporations trap teens into following the mythic trends.

References

* Category:1980s fashion Category:1990s fashion Category:2000s fashion

Name	Big Sean
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Sean Michael Leonard Anderson
Born	March 25, 1988Santa Monica, California, US
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, US
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, songwriter, model
Years active	2005 – present
Label	GOOD Music, Def Jam
Associated acts	Kanye West, Pharrell, Mike Posner, Chip tha Ripper
Url

Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988) is an American hip hop artist who primarily goes by the stage name Big Sean. He was born in Santa Monica, California and moved to the Detroit, Michigan area at two months of age. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music in 2007, and then in 2008 signed with Def Jam Recordings. He has been featured in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times.

Early life

Sean was raised by his mother, where he would grow up with his little cousins Chris Jinkins and Gregg Pluta in Southwest Detroit. In his early childhood Sean attended Detroit Waldorf School for the arts. After eighth grade, Sean briefly attended Marietta High for his Freshman year, before returning to the Detroit Area. He later met Sean Menifee, an older teen who mentored him after recognizing his wordplay skills. Since Sean was much smaller than his mentor, many called him "Big Sean" when referring to him as an ironic joke. He attended Cass Technical High School.In his later years in high school, Sean gained a valuable relationship with Detroit hip hop station 102.7 FM; he would show his rhyming skills on a weekly basis as part of a rap battle contest held by the station.

Music career

In 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West and perform some free-style. Initially Kanye was reluctant to hear the emcee, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him, eventually according to Big Sean "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head,". He left a demo-tape as well. Two years later, West finally signed Big Sean to GOOD Music. His musical rap/singing style and lyrical delivery has influenced many top rappers in the game, such as Lil Wayne and Drake.

Finally Famous Vol 1: The Mixtape (2007)

On September 21, 2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous: The Mixtape. His hit single, "Getcha Some", produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times. He also recorded a music video for "Getcha Some", which was directed by Hype Williams. The mixtape also featured the song "Get Em" (produced by 93 P).

Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN (2009)

Sean released a second mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16, 2009, called U Know Big Sean. It features the songs "Million Dollars" Getcha Some" & "Desire, Want & Need."

''Finally Famous Vol. 3: B.I.G. (2010)

Sean released a third mixtape hosted by Don Cannon on August 31, 2010 called Finally Famous Vol.3 B.I.G. Features include Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Curren$y, Say It Aint Tone, Tyga, Drake, Mike Posner, Suai, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, Dom Kennedy, Boldy James, and Chiddy Bang. The mixtape includes 20 tracks.

Finally Famous (2011)

It will be Sean's debut album and includes Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Mr Hudson, Game, Chiddy Bang, Pusha T of Clipse, Rick Ross, The-Dream, Drake, Tyga, Eminem, Wale, and Mike Posner with production from Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Posner, No I.D., The Olympicks, Tricky Stewart, Chiddy Bang member Xaphoon Jones and The Neptunes. Big Sean also recorded a song for the album titled "Way Out" featuring Mr. Hudson. An unauthorized leak of his collaboration with Drake, called "Made" made its way to the net on April 30, 2010. In an interview with TheHipHopUpdate.com on May 1, Big Sean expressed his disappointment over the leak, calling it an unfinished version both musically and verse wise. The first single of his "Finally Famous" Album was What U Doin' (Bullshittin')(produce by The Olympicks) release on August 3 on iTunes. Big Sean's official Facebook page, he confirmed that on September 14, 2010, his debut album Finally Famous & Consequence's Cons TV will be released. On the 31st of August, Big Sean tweeted that the album was not coming out on September 14, but it will still be coming out sometime in 2011. In a recent interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, he discussed the role Kanye West and No I.D. have had in the development of the albums sonic direction as well as the challenges of being inside the studio with West.

Style and clothing

In late October 2008, Big Sean was featured in The Source and headlined the "Style" section of the magazine. In the article Sean talks about his own personal style and states that his favorite clothing brands are 10. Deep, Billionaire Boys Club, and Bape. Big Sean also posed in the Winter 2008 Billionaire Boys Club lookbook. Big Sean is also a consistent representative of Ti$A clothing and hats, along with Chris Brown and Tyga. Ti$A is a vintage company run by Big Sean's fellow G.O.O.D Music recording artist Taz Arnold. Big Sean also goes to a small store in Royal Oak, Michigan called, "Burn Rubber" This store offers many styles of his clothing that he wears now. Big Sean is also a follower in the clothing style: Rosewood.

Discography

Studio albums

(2011)

Mixtapes

(2007)

(2009)

(2010)

Appearances

Chip tha Ripper - Fat Raps ft Curren$y & Big Sean

Chris Brown - Shit Got Damn ft Big Sean

Chris Brown - Glitter ft Big Sean

Chris Brown - What U Doin' ft Big Sean

French Montana - I'm On It ft Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa & Nipsey Hussle

Kanye West - Paranoid Remix ft Big Sean, Kid Cudi & Mr Hudson

Kanye West - Looking For Trouble ft Big Sean, Pusha T, J. Cole & CyHi The Prynce

Kanye West - See Me Now ft Big Sean, Beyonce & Charlie Wilson

Kanye West - Good Friday ft. Common, Pusha T, Kid Cudi, Big Sean & Charlie Wilson

Kanye West - Don't Look Down ft Mos Def, Big Sean & Lupe Fiasco

Fly Union ft. Big Sean - Poe'd Up

Mike Posner - Cooler than Me ft Big Sean

Malik Yusef - V.E.R.S.E (Very Entertaining Recitals Spit Effortlessly) (featuring Big Sean, Anna Maria Cardinalli)

Mike Posner - Speed of Sound ft Big Sean

Mike Posner - Bring Me Down ft Big Sean & Freddie Gibbs

Mike Posner - "Smoke and Drive ft. Big Sean"

Royce da 5'9 - My Own Planet ft Big Sean

Tommy Lee - I'm A Loser ft Lil Wayne, Joell Ortiz, Sparkdawg, Big Sean, J-Son & Sum 41

Wale - Wonder Why ft Big Sean, Kenn Star & Mike Posner

YG - Big Krit Big Sean & Ty$

Videography

"Get'cha Some"

"Million Dollars"

"What U Doin (Bullshitting)"

"Highrise"

"Supa Dupa Lemonade"

"Okay"

"Supa Dupa"

"Final Hour"

"Too Fake" (feat. Chiddy Bang)

"Ambiguous" (feat. Mike Posner)

"Crazy"

References

External links

HipHopGame April 2008 Interview

HipHopAtLunch Interview

TheHipHopUpdate May 2010 Interview

Conspiracy Worldwide Radio October 2010 Uncensored Interview

Category:1988 births Category:Living people Category:American rappers Category:African American rappers Category:Waldorf school alumni