Hip hop fashion is distinctive because it does not require expensive clothing, allowing artists to relate to working class fans. Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye West exemplify typical hip hop styles through baggy clothes, hats, and jewelry. While clothes may be cheap, artists spend on tattoos, drugs, and their own clothing lines. Representing where they are from through local logos and staying true to their roots through familiar styles helps artists connect with fans.

1. Costume Analysis 1
EminemHip Hop fashion is a distinctive style because you don’t need loads of
money to dress like your favourite artist. This is because most hip hop
artist come from rough/poor backgrounds which means they know what it is
like to not have any money and this is how they can relate so well to the
working class. The style of hip hop originates from African America and
states like New York, LA and California have all contributed to a popular
hip hop fashion across the world.
This artist is a male rap/hip hop artist that is Eminem. His style, like many
other rap artists is mainly ‘baggy’ clothing, this means that his clothes
always look a size or a couple of size to big for him. His costume features
clothes that aren’t expensive and this is because, all though he is very rich,
he wants to be able to relate to his fans and the target audience which
means dressing in a particular way, wearing clothes that aren’t expensive.
This is because the fans of hip hop in general are the working class
members of society.
However their clothes may be cheaper than other genres of music but this
may be because they spend their money on other things such as expensive
jewellery, tattoos, drugs etc. Many artists like Eminem have loads of tattoos
on their body which mean something to them. For example Eminem has a
tattoo on his arm of his daughter showing how much he loves her.
Eminem has his own clothing line (Shady Limited) which helps fans become
in touch with the artist and feel a little more connected. Also this obviously
means that Eminem gains more money from this.

2. Costume Analysis 2 Jay ZJay Z has a similar costume to Eminem in the fact that most of the clothing that Jay Z wears
are baggy and loose. The clothing items that Jay Z usually wears are jogging bottoms, jeans,
high top trainers or as you can see in the bottom right, baseball T-shirts. Jay Z also has his
own clothing line which is a normal thing for a hip hop artist to have.
He wears a lot of ‘snapbacks’ when performing or just when he is out and about. Hats are a big
part of a rappers costume as in the ‘working class’ environment many youths wear them so he
wants to be able to relate to them by having this representation of wearing a hat is cool.
Furthermore he once also came from those roots so he is able to stay humble by wearing the
same clothes he used to wear.
He also wears lots of jewellery to show of how much he earns that he can spend it on expensive
items such as big necklaces made out of pure gold. He often raps about how much he earns and
how rich and successful he is, but he is not the only one as other rappers brag in their lyrics
because this is a common theme within hip hop. That is why you see hip hop artists wearing
expensive watches, necklaces and rings.
Jay Z also wears a lot of Brooklyn logoed
clothing and this is not because he is
sponsored by them, its simply because he was
born and raised in the city of Brooklyn. A lot
of hip hop artists wear items of costume that
represent where they born and where they
live. This is to promote there city and to say
‘Hey I’m from here so this is the best city’. A
lot of hip hop artists love to associate
themselves with their city as, after all that
city made them who they are today, they
want their city to be recognised and
respected.

3. Costume Analysis 3
In this image Kanye West is seen to be wearing oversized clothes which is a regular
theme in the genre of rap. His white top is plain and his jeans are ripped and baggy
which helps him relate to his fans who don’t have much money to spend on clothes so his
fans and other hip hop fans can have a similar dress sense because a white top and
ripped jeans aren’t too expensive. The trainers are stylish and cost a more than the rest of
the costume and this is because in the genre of rap, trainers are valued highly. Trainers
have become an important part of hip hop cultures since the 1970’s. Rappers, like Kanye
West sign million dollar deals with major brands such as Nike and Adidas to promote
their shoes. Kanye West has now got his own trainers called ‘Air Yeezy’s. hip hop fans will
splash out a lot of money to look and have the same trainers as their favourite artists.
This is why it is important for rap artists to have cool and good looking footwear more
than anything else and I think Kanye ticks this box.
However some would say that because Kanye West is wearing
light clothes ,and therefore challenging the representation of
rappers who mainly where dark clothes, he views himself as
God-like so he wants to stand out from the rest of the artists
because of this.
Kanye West is also meeting the familiar representation of
wearing jewellery with his clothes as you can see in both
pictures. This shows the audience and fans that he is successful
in the rap game and can splash his money out on loads of
expensive pure gold and silver jewellery. In the image on the left
Kanye is wearing sunglasses even though it is night when this
picture was taken and this is because it is seen to be very cool
and stylish for a rapper to wear sun glasses, no matter if its
dark or not.

4. Costume Ideas for my Artist
Rapid L
This is what my rap artist is going to look like and what he is going to wear
on the front cover. I have decided to have him wearing a bandana to lure the
audience in for them to read more and wonder who is behind the bandana.
This artist is new and coming up in the rap world but he is well known in the
UK and the USA but because he wears this bandana know one knows what
he looks like fully. This magazine will have an exclusive headline that will
say something like ‘Exclusive: Rapid L face reveal’ I hope this will entice and
lure the audience in more to read and buy the magazine.
He will be wearing mainly black because I found out, from my research, that
most rap artists wear black which shows the artists masculinity. Also
because it is all black it really puts a focus on his bandana so people will be
drawn to the his face and want to know who is behind it.
The clothes are baggy because this is a key stereotype amongst rap artists so
fans of the genre will be able to tell he is a rap artist, in case they haven’t
heard of him. Also because the target audience wear baggy and not so
expensive clothes they will be able to relate themselves to the artist.
He will be able to represent these features to conform with the conventions of
a modern day rapper.
The artists name is Rapid L because his first name is Louis and he is quick
when he raps. So therefore the L is for Louis and the Rapid is to represent
his speed in his lyrics and songs.
This will be the rough look of
the front cover possibly with
arms crossed.