Youth culture is about so much more than clothes. It is an integration of music, lyrics, attitudes and language as well as the way you have your hair, the type of slang you speak, the specific sub culture you associate with. All of these different aspects that are adopted by young people produce a form of identity, self expression and acceptance by like minded people. Hip hop music and the stars that where them influence hip hop fashion, while hip hop fashion on the street influences the music. The clothes are the ultimate way of creating an identity, and are closely linked with particular genres of music.

The hip hop culture was started in the Bronx, New York in the 1970s, with rap being performed initially by African Americans and Latin Americans, to create a unique musical style. Street graffiti went hand in hand with the whole culture and also influenced clothing styles. Hip hop made the MC a star, and with its musical originality came hip hop clothing. Many of the big hip hop stars started their own fashion labels in the 1990s, such as 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Wu-Tang Clan and many others. A distinctive way to wear your jeans in a hip hop style has been to sag them low and baggy, off the hips and without a belt. Recently, however there has been a retro move in hip hop clothing styles, back to the 1908s to a hipster style, with slim fit jeans, tight vintage short sleeved tee shirts and polo shirts, sports coats, flashy cuff links and decorative belt buckles. Shorter length tee shirts are favoured in order to show of the elaborate belts. Major influences in current fashion styles are Kanye West and will i am. Tight fitting skate boarder styles are influenced by Lupe Fiasco and Pharell. Shoes are chunky, sturdy and tough, like Mountain Gear Boots and trainers are glossy, two coloured bright and smooth. Designers such as Flyseries, Obey, Zoo York, Mada, King, The Originators and Ambiguous create really stylish clothing that makes the definitive hip hop fashion statement. Bomber jackets in distressed leather, classy pea coats in wool and poly mix, all over printed tee shirts, rain jackets, hoodies, cargo shorts and board shorts are all part of the hip hop image. Hip hop fashion is less distinctive these days than it once was. Baseball caps are still being worn. The finer bling detailing is still present, such as the skull with diamanté eyes chain or Playboy chain for that hip hop detail, to be worn loud and proud. You can find all you need in hip hop and rock fashion with Atticus Clothing UK