AT THE TIME I DISCOVERED HIP-HOP, I was waist-high to an adult and an aspiring simulacrum of Michael Jackson's style. (Picture a Jheri curl, pleather Thriller jacket, and penny loafers.) Then my aunt Maria, who was five years older, dropped an LP on the basement record player. "I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie/To the hip hip hop-a you don't stop the rock." Although I can't be sure the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap song I ever heard, it was the genre's first mainstream hit, introducing hip-hop to the masses six years after DJ Kool Herc unveiled his breakbeats at a party in the Bronx all the way back in 1973.
That means this year-2023-it turns the big 5-0! And while rap might be the most popular aspect of what people now call "the Culture," fashion has always-ever been an integral aspect of it.
On that same seminal song, one of the group's members-Big Bank Hankbragged that he had "more clothes than Muhammad Ali" and dressed "so viciously." Did he indeed own more clothes than the Greatest? I wouldn't bet no bread on it. But that's hip-hop fashion for you.
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Esquire US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2023 edition of Esquire US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
this charming man
Drew Starkey's performance in the Oscar hopeful Queer has Hollywood buzzing. He's also fashion's latest \"it\" boy and an incredible dinner companion. What is it about this guy?
what i've learned
I TAKE THINGS in stride. Maybe a lot of it is maturity. When I was a lot younger, in my late twenties, I was a tyrant.
the book of denzed
He has lived a big life. Tough streets, close calls, a wife of forty-one years, four kids, fifty movies, two Oscars, three Equalizers...all by the grace of God. For the first time on the occasion of Gladiator II, one of the biggest films of his epic career, and his approaching seventieth birthday the man himself breaks it all down, in his own words, to the moments that mattered and the experiences that made him. He has lived a big life, but Denzel Washington ain't done yet.
The Best New Restaurants in America 2024
THE OTHER DAY MY SON JASPER ASKED ME WHAT sounded like a simple question: \"Dad,\" he said, \"what is American food?\"
THE RISE AND RISE OF JANNIK SINNER
The world's number-one tennis player is winning MAJORS and dominating HIS rivals. Now comes the HARD PART.
ALL MONEY AIN'T GOOD MONEY
The current exponential proliferation of legal gambling preys on Black and brown people in unseen ways
DEAR FAMILY
Could my brother have made it any more obvious that he needed our help?
CORD CURRICULUM
You don't need to look like a rumpled college professor in your corduroys. The secret is picking the right pair.
Brogue Squadron
On the hunt for a dress shoe that doesn't feel too, well, dressy? Look no further.
THE G.O.A.T. OF CASHMERE
Why Loro Piana's take on luxury feels so right for right now
