Criticism of hip hop fashion Commentators from both inside and outside of the hip-hop community have criticized the cost of many of the accouterments of hip hop fashion. Chuck D of Public Enemy summarized the mentality of some low-income youths as "Man, I work at McDonald's, but in order for me to feel good about myself I got to get a gold chain or I got to get a fly car in order to impress a sister or whatever."[10] In his 1992 song "Us", Ice Cube rapped that "Us [African-Americans] will always sing the blues / 'cause all we care about is hairstyles and tennis shoes.[11] Some fans have expressed disappointment with the increased amount of advertising for expensive hip-hop brands in hip-hop magazines.[12] In one letter to the editor in Source magazine, a reader wrote that the magazine should "try showing some less expensive brands so heads will know they don't have to hustle, steal, or rob and blast shots for flyness."[13] In fact, there were many highly-publicized robberies of hip-hop artists by the late 1990s.[12] Guru of Gang Starr was robbed at gunpoint of his Rolex watch, Queen Latifah's car was car-jacked, and Prodigy was robbed at gunpoint of $300,000 in jewelry.[12] A few hip hop insiders, such as the members of Public Enemy, have made the deliberate choice not to don expensive jewelry as a statement against materialism.[12]

Urban Streetwear
Men’s Urban Streetwear
Women’s Urban Streetwear
Street Fashion
Men’s Street Fashion
Women’s Street Fashion