TUPAC SHAKUR

Tupac Shakur is considered one of the biggest influences in hip hop. The ways he connected with his audience may be considered controversial by some, but his domination in the hip-hop world showed the difficulties and issues plaguing the black community. He lived with a sense of purpose and yearned to change the world.

Tupac’s very distinctive personal style has influenced numerous designers and artists; this brought around many iconic pieces that even if pulled out today would still be just as influential. His fashion statements paved the way for hip hop stars to become the faces of fashion brands as well as contributing to how streetwear is perceived by today’s youth. His iconic look that consisted of Timberland boots, a bandana and denim dungarees began a domino effect within the fashion industry that brought those pieces into the mainstream.

Darryl McDaniels, Jason Mizzell and Joseph Simmons are the three members that made up the hip hop group RunD.M.C. They were the first ones to bring a more “street” style to hip hop fashion; sporting Kangol hats, unlaced Adidas shoes and leather jackets. The trend of unlaced shoes stemmed from jails; as shoelaces were not allowed, this was taken as a statement and brought into the world of fashion, and it is where the lyrics “My Adidas only bring good news and they are not used as felon shoes” were born.

What made Run-D.M.C so unique was their fresh take on the hip hop scene by combining it with several forms of rock and roll; their track ‘Walk This Way’ featuring Aerosmith is a perfect example of this and was the song that revived Aerosmith’s career. Run-D.M.C.’s contemporary style of rap quickly championed the charts, and the world of hip hop changed forever.