Hip hop and rap music have influenced youth culture in many ways but particularly in how they choose to dress. Since it’s inception over 35 years ago hip-hop has continued to thrive across North America and is now a $ 4 billion-a-year music industry. Rap, which prodominently now called hip hop, is a cultural force that has gained steam in its ability to produce results when paired with existing clothing and apparel lines as well is in creating its own. A perfect example of hip-hop’s ability to sell came in 1999 when Tommy Hilfiger reported a significant increase in annual sales after tailoring his line for “the hip-hop set.” Since then other major manufactures have decided to cross over to a more hip hop street type of look and enjoyed the same success. Currently, urban street apparel accounts for $2.2 billion in annual sales, which includes a celebrity-based designer list from the likes of 50 cents, G-Unit Brand and Sean “Puffy” Combs, Sean John line of apparel. More and more this trend towards “street” clothing is becoming popular and places like Macy’s now fill their racks with the likes of FUBU, Phat Farm, Mecca and ENYCE rather than the likes of Calvin Klein or Polo. There is no denying the influence hip hop has youth and how they choose to dress because they are simply mimicking what they see on T.V. And what they are seeing is a dominating “rap” culture. Ebony magazine reports that two out of every 10 records sold in America are hip-hop and that 80 percent of buyers are white. The impacts of hip-hop music don’t stop at it’s affects on clothing but is rather just the beginning.
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