The Best '90s Rap Music Video Style Trends
The '90s were lowkey the best in terms of hip-hop fashion. Whether you like to admit or not, our favorite rappers put us on to most of your wardrobe. They had the cash and influence to rock fly shit before it hit stores. Amazingly, there are still trends from back then that people rock today. A fresh pair of Timbs or Air Force 1s will never get old. Ralph Lauren never left and cats are quietly bringing Tommy Hilfiger back. Kanye West's overcharging us for military gear, jerseys are making a comeback, and Wallys will forever be timeless—word to Ghostface Killah. The more things change, the more they stay the same, or so they say. Everything that's retro now was new back then. Since we all love and miss the '90s so much, we decided to pick The Best '90s Rap Music Video Style Trends.
CarharttExample: Mobb Deep - “Survival of the Fittest”
Whether it was a skully or a jacket, it didn't matter. Rappers loved Carhartt gear because of the brand's simplicity and durability. Those trademark canvas jackets were a staple in a slew of videos by rappers from coast to coast. Dre wore them, Mobb Deep wore them, everybody wore them. —Angel Diaz
Tommy HilfigerExample: Fat Joe f/ Grand Puba & Diamond D - “Watch The Sound”
Grand Puba is solely responsible for making Tommy popular within the hip-hop community. This is something Tommy acknowledged after Grand Puba's featured verse on Mary J. Blige's "What's the 411?" Unlike many brands, Tommy embraced Puba and began seeding him gear further extending his influence in rap. The brand was a rapper favorite because of their designs and true American flavor. Snoop wore an ill top during an SNL performance in 1996, and Ghostface had a dope Tommy shirt on in the "Criminology" video. —Angel Diaz
Polo Ralph LaurenExample: Wu-Tang Clan - “Can It Be All So Simple”
Raekwon rocking the Snow Beach Polo pullover in the “Can It Be All So Simple” is iconic. That jacket is still sought after and is going for multiple stacks online. This is what happens when your brand makes not only classic but quality threads. Two decades later and Polo is still the leaders of Americana fashion. They are what all brands aspire to be. And let us not forget about the NYC street crew that loved Polo so much they named themselves the Lo-Lifes. —Angel Diaz
Bubble GoosesExamples: Black Moon - “I Got Cha Opin (Remix)”
In a clear-cut case of the rap co-sign morphing a style item into a completely unforeseen context, somehow bubble coats became synonymous with being hard. You could dress warm for winter and still have the most convincing ice grill thumbing through in a bubble winter goose. Maybe that's because only the hardest of the hard wore em, like Mobb Deep, Biggie and Fredro Star. A clothing co-sign from guys who were so clearly about that life is strong enough to extend to the clothing itself. —Frazier Tharpe
BandanasExample: DMX - “Ruff Ryders Anthem”
Fuck a fitted or a Starter cap. Draping a flag around your head became a late-decade favorite, especially for the hardest of the hardbody like DMX, Jadakiss and the rest of the Ruff Ryders. Hood superstars like Fab and Dipset would go on to glamorize the look with ghetto fabulous flair. —Frazier Tharpe
Army JacketsExample: Das EFX - “They Want EFX”
Nowadays brands bite military wears and charge us a premium price. But way back when cats used to get their soldier gear from Army surplus stores on the cheap. It was just another way to project how street you were. An army jacket paired with a pair of rugged, unlaced Timbs was a go-to look for being in field. —Frazier Tharpe
White TeesExample: B.G. f/ Big Tymers & The Hot Boyz - “Bling Bling”
People still rock white tees but they aren't as popular as they were in the late '90s. New Orleans rap crew Cash Money brought them to the forefront and brands like Citylab took advantage. You could get one tee for $5 and five tees for $20. The boys from the N.O. rocked them every chance they got and so did the hood. When you stained one you could walk right to the bodega and cop another. —Angel Diaz
VersaceExample: The Notorious B.I.G. - “Hypnotize”
Big and Puff put those label budgets to good use. Their larger than life music videos put rap into the pop culture conversation. And they did it draped in Versace like the bosses they were. Whenever rappers wanted to emulate a lavish lifestyle they either wore or mentioned the luxurious Italian brand. Kanye touched on the trend in "All Falls Down" when he said, "pass that Versaysee."
Team GearExample: Snoop Dogg - “Gin and Juice”
Throwback basketball jerseys would go on to become huge, and football on a lesser scale but the swagginess of the hockey jersey has always been lightweight underrated. Every now and then though a rapper would switch up the usual swag-to-team affiliations and go for broke. Case in point: Snoop, repping LBC content-wise but donning both Pittsburgh Penguins and Springfield Indians hockey jerseys in his breakout video for “Gin and Juice.” —Frazier Tharpe
Shiny SuitsExample: The Notorious B.I.G. - “Mo Money Mo Problems”
Straight up, a crisp shiny suit probably came with the contract for anyone who signed to Bad Boy in the back half of the '90s. They even had the LOX shining, b. Puffy and Ma$e seemingly had a new glityz two-piece for every visual they popped up in. But while they had the copyright, it still counts as an overall trend from the sheer number of videos. And it wasn't without imitators either (we see you Sisqo,) though they only made it that much more evident who the trend truly belonged to. —Frazier Tharpe
Karl KaniExample: 2Pac - “Keep Ya Head Up”
Pac used to be a Karl Kani model. He appeared in ads and made sure to rock the brand in videos. Karl was one of the first designers to notice the lack of lines that targeted the urban community. This revelation made him the go-to guy whenever rappers wanted to get fresh and in turn made Karl a very rich man. Biggie even wore the brand but not in videos as he preferred kangols, peacoats, and extravagant Versace shirts.
TimberlandsExamples: Wu-Tang Clan - “Triumph”
Do Timbs even exclusively belong to the '90s? Definitely not. Jay Z had briefly suffered from temporary insanity when he tried to move the culture off of Timbs a few years ago on a Blueprint 3 track best forgotten about. But a crisp pair of 6” inch constructs are a damn near timeless closet staple and not just in the wintertime either. They did arguably get a huge boost in rap videos in the '90s however, especially when the steez was decidedly more rugged. The Rebel INS had everybody wearing the cinnamon ones he had on in the "Triumph" video back in '97. —Frazier Tharpe
Nike Air Force 1sExample: Jay Z - “Hard Knock Life”
Air Forces would pick up even more steam in the aughts, but as the decade drew to a close mid “Uptowns” were already making an impact on the block. Crisp AF1s whiter than the bricks being rapped about were a late decade cornerstone in any video that had aspirations of being considered fly. —Frazier Tharpe
Clarks WallabeesExample: Puff Daddy f/ Carl Thomas & Mase - “Been Around The World (Remix)”
We know Ghostface was the one to put us on to the classic flavor of the Wallabee but we used the "Been Around The World (Remix)" video because that screenshot is too good. Puffy rocking the royal blue Wallys with the white suit really set that whole scene off. The Wally is for those times when you want to be comfortable but the moment calls for something more casual than sneakers. Cats could play the block all day in these. —Angel Diaz
FlannelsExample: Ice Cube - “It Was A Good Day”
It's deeper than grunge. The rap game, particularly the West Coast, loved a good flannel pattern (and still does). A shirt with only the top two buttons done, a white tee underneath and a pair of Dickies is Compton-approved formal wear. Casual and street at the same damn time. —Frazier Tharpe
Baggy ClothesExamples: Kriss Kross - “Jump”
"Jump" is a premier example, but do we even really need any? Every video is an example—plain and simple, baggy clothing was literally synonymous with this rap shit. You weren't real unless you were wearing a shirt and pants more suitable for a dude at least two actual sizes bigger than you. Oh my how things change.
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