How has Hip Hop impacted design and fashion?
Jordan ChumberSTUDENT ID: 19131319
VIS6037 CRITICAL PRACTICE
DISSERTATION TUTOR: RUTH YEATES
Contents
Abstract 2
Introduction 3
Chapter 1 – Cey Adams 3
Chapter 2 - Album Covers 8
Chapter 3 - Fashion 12
Conclusion 21
List of Images 23
Bibliography 25
Appendices 28
Abstract
Hip Hop is one of the biggest genres of music in the world and design plays a huge role in this. This dissertation aims to investigate hip hops impact within the realm of design and fashion by exploring how graffiti influenced the world of design to impact album cover art and fashion branding. Specifically looking at how consumers perceive album cover designs and if they feel the cover plays a role in their consumerism also, exploring how hip-hop practitioners have directly influenced the world of fashion more precisely, the impact this has had on consumerism which is investigated though research on the psychology of consumerism and brand loyalty. This is thoroughly investigated through conducting a survey to look at how consumers feel hip hop has impacted their consumerism as well as interviews with relevant people within the culture that are directly influenced by hip hop.
From graffiti to street art, fashion to branding how has the culture of hip hop influenced how we look at design? Hip Hop is more than a music genre it is a culture and has always been one of the most popular and influential genres of music in the world. It comes from the streets therefore giving the music a gritty yet distinctive sound. Hip hop consists of 5 different elements: MCing, DJing, breakdancing, beatboxing and finally graffiti. These elements play a major role in Hip Hop’s popularity and relatability as it allows individuals to find their own lane within the culture. Hip Hop is a music genre therefore it produces musicians, but the fact graffiti is an element in the genre it also breeds designers which play a huge role with musicians directly because the musicians need the designers and vice versa. ‘The challenge, in my opinion, was always how to change a language that everyone was accustomed with. Graffiti was all over walls and in subways however, I knew it was much more than that. How could graffiti be elevated while maintaining its integrity was my concern’. (Rhoten, 2019). Cey Adams who is a Visual Artist, Graphic Designer and Hip-Hop figurehead had said this in an interview. His statement explains that hip hop culture was always more even from its early days. He could see early that this would transcend from an underground culture and penetrate the mainstream.
This research paper will investigate the impact hip hop as a culture has had on design and how this has significantly impacted fashion. The thesis will focus on the early days of hip hop and how those first elements inspired design and how this created practitioners who developed their skill set and went onto impact design further by working on promotional designs such as albums covers to impacting fashion as hip-hop culture and fashion go hand in hand. In terms of the scope, the research paper will investigate how graffiti transitioned from vandalism to typefaces for leaflets and posters in the early days to, hip hop impacting fashion in the nineties with designers designing clothing which mirrored hip hop culture with the bright bold colours. Campaigns were also seen with individuals from the culture and to now recently, hip hops influence on high end fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton through designer Virgil Abloh. It will also focus on other practitioners like Cey Adams who went from graffiti to producing hip hop magazines and album covers to clothing pieces which is a similar route to Virgil.
Chapter 1 – Cey Adams
When you think about Hip Hop music you usually don’t think about graffiti artists who are the visual glue between artist and consumer especially today, but it wasn’t always like that. Graffiti is an element of Hip Hop and as mentioned in, documentary Style Wars ‘They mark their names, names they have made up themselves are marked on subway trains which travel around the city which is was coined, bombing’. (See Appendix 6) Bombing was a way for artists to get their name out there for everyone to see and as mentioned by Graphic
Designer Martin Donnelly, ‘From a branding perspective, that's exactly what branding is, isn't it? Getting your name in front of your audience’. (See Appendix 2) From this statement it is understood that graffiti is branding, making sure their name is out there, so every time you get on the train you remember the same name which in some cases graffiti artists were rappers too, so they were getting their rap name out there. Graffiti became prevalent in New York as it bred many artists those of which may be into more than one element of hip hop as some were multitalented and used their skills to benefit the movement, they were trying to kickstart. According to, Worthington and Esquire, (2003) ‘During Hip Hop’s early years, DJ Battles promoted in handouts and were produced by graffiti artists: infrequently, performers themselves created the advertisements like accomplished graffiti artist, Grandmaster Caz’, This relates to what is said earlier on in the article which is, ‘The process of producing these visuals tend not to happen within the design community’. This explains that these pioneers decided to use skills they have with lettering and layouts on walls and transfer this over to promotional pieces for themselves which hadn’t been done before. This supports the point that graffiti has impacted design as graffiti artists can transfer their skills graphically which will be explored more in a case study in the next chapter.
Cey Adams is a very important figure in Hip Hop, especially within the design realm. As stated by, Rhoten, (2019) ‘His art is on album covers and gallery walls but first, it was the New York City streets alongside fellow designers Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring in the 1970s and 1980s’. Cey came up amongst some of the top designers in a very competitive time in New York’s Street art scene so where he is now shows major development in his skill set to adapt to the commercial setting, he once started in. Cey was consumed by hip hop culture like most inner-city youths therefore began tagging and according to Dumbo, (2019) ‘His parents supported his artistic dreams but as a teenager out tagging, they did not agree’. Graffiti was looked at as vandalism and not art, so his parents were not wrong in their assumption. This is further supported by a statement in the Style Wars documentary which depicts a police officer standing in front of graffiti and saying, ‘I’m no art critic but I know for sure that’s a crime’. (See Appendix 6) This captures the time that Cey grew up. Hip hop was not as widely accepted as it is now and some still argue it is vandalism but has offered a way into different avenues of more commercial design. Cey speaks on this more in an interview with Sway where he addresses his mindset later on by saying, ‘Graffiti carries a bad connotation which I no longer wanted a part of as I was trying to be more positive, so any opportunity thrown my way I was destined to make the most of it’. (See Appendix 5) This furthers the point of artists recognising the bad in graffiti which could land them in jail and not allow them to use their full potential.
He was fully immersed in the world of Hip Hop but then, ‘he started the journey from "graffiti vandal" to a fine artist when approached by the gallery Graffiti Above Ground at 19, and there, he says, "They trained us and taught us how to talk to the media, how to stretch canvas, how to handle yourself as a professional artist," (Dumbo, 2019). The gallery changed
Cey’s life as a teen and displays that the vandalism type background he came from was relative in becoming a commercial artist, as the gallery looked at graffiti as an art form. Therefore, this diversified his range by teaching him methods that would further him in the professional world and get him out of just being a graffiti artist. According to Anderton, (2019), ‘When he met Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons in 1983 as a young graffiti artist, he transformed himself into a graphic designer and became the first creative director of Def Jam Records’. This is a major event in Hip Hop and design culture as it proved that graffiti can be considered as an art form and proved this by Cey landing a job that some may have studied for. ‘I had to find out how to lay out a magazine’s if required. Thus, I could be considered a one-man design studio. Additionally, because I derive from a graffiti background and lack formal training, I had to teach myself how to do typical cut and paste graphic design’. (Anderton, 2019) His background in graffiti made it possible to adapt and thrive in the graphic design world. Promotion and branding of an artist is key in the music industry. This is a big change from fine art however, the images below designed by Cey showcase his fine art talents and attention to detail.
Cey had designed a logo for Jay Z that he currently still uses after meeting him once he signed to Def Jam’. (See Appendix 5) Taking their creative relationship to the next level Cey worked on Jay Z’s debut album which was destined to be a timeless classic like Biggie’s. Callas, (2017) identified the imagery of the cover by speaking on Jay Z as he, ‘Established the mafioso subgenre with His face covered by a slanted brim a Cuban cigar and a gold pinkie ring. Jay was a decade ahead of his time by channelling his inner American gangster, Frank Lucas’. The image (See Fig. 1) captures a Mafia feel with the cover and the content of music translates as he refers to mobsters in his lyrics. The black and white colour scheme captures the Mafia look as it gives the feel of the 1920s. This is complemented by the infamous brimmed hat and cigar which is the look that mobsters tend to perceive.
The DMX cover has always stood out amongst other covers as an iconic work of art that Cey had his creative hands on. ‘His second album X took it to another level with compared to the first as he wanted to fully depict his dark side’. (Callas, 2017) The album works as a diary for DMX’s as it feels like it’s part of him, hence the title and image of him covered in his own blood, signifying everything X as an artist represents from anger to depression. Cey really symbolizes the covers impact (See Fig. 2) on the consumer, because the cover packs everything that the music is about and as a consumer the cover and music may make you feel you know X personally due to his honesty and courage to let people in. ‘Authenticity is what Hip Hop is all about, who you are, where you’re from and what you’ve done. Be as distinctive as your fingerprint and incorporate yourself in the design to demonstrate your reality through your creations’. (Hollingsworth, 2016) Cey and X worked well here to completely capture the persona of X at this point in his life and to display to the consumer the type of person they are dealing with and therefore giving them an idea on what to expect from him while not giving much away.
Hip hop always influenced fashion therefore after his time designing album covers Cey stated, ‘Learning silk screening allowed me to create again as it was something I missed’.( Sisley, 2016)He then states that his choice to poses these skills opened more lanes for him as he goes onto say, ‘To celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali I was commissioned by Adidas to design a clothing collection’ (Sisley, 2016). Cey’s journey led him into the fashion realm. This verifies that design can impact fashion as everything he has learnt from graffiti, designing magazines and album covers and to film promotion, has prepared him to design clothing for a wellrespected brand. Thus, showing that his graphic and visual experience’s is the reason he has accomplished so much and will remain an important component of the culture. Cey has been known to say according to Dumbo, (2019), ‘Graphic designing seemed destined for me as a graffiti artist as I have a graphic style and sensibility due to my craftmanship’. This statement from Cey gives the impression that graphic design and graffiti go hand in hand, as graffiti has taught and helped refine certain graphic elements such as layouts, typographic skills, and colour usage.
From the research it seems that his skills as a graphic designer helped him to impact the world of hip hop more than being a graffiti artist. A lot goes into being a graphic designer and a lot of these elements are needed in music to promote to and engage consumers. Coming from the same background as your genre helps as Cey says, ‘he was a teenager during the time Hip Hop was founded and that’s the time he was found himself, he also goes on to say, “I pre-exist hip hop and graffiti” (Dumbo, 2019) Cey is the perfect example as a hip-hop inspired practitioner who recognised and took advantage of his talents. Other practitioners seemed to follow suit which I will explore further on. When discussing the topic of design, he is the forefather of all the practitioners after him as he set the path for what a designer within hip hop should be. His story it itself is evidence to support that
design has directly impacted designed fashion as he has made a significant impact within both fields.
Chapter 2 - Album Covers
As mentioned by Sisley, (2016), ‘Album art allows us to experience a musician's creativity and message in a totally different medium thus, creating a lasting impact and is eternally related to these powerful aesthetics’. What this means is that the cover art on albums helps the listener to visualise what they’re listening to and adds to the overall experience of consuming the music. Paul Turland who is an avid Hip Hop collector mentions, ‘The noise, the impact, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up just thinking about it’. (See Appendix 1). This statement from Paul is about his favourite album of all time, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back by Public Enemy which further proves the previous statement relating to the powerful aesthetics of covers and how they play a major part in the consumption of music. As Paul says the hairs standing up on his neck clearly makes that period a key memory for him as the sound, the lyrics, the cover all played a part in becoming his favourite hip hop album of all time. In terms of new music, album covers are still making their presence as designers play a huge role in the hip hop artists marketability which we can learn from the previous case study, Cey Adams. ‘Vlad Sepetov is the mastermind behind the last 3 Kendrick Lamar albums and Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q who are both signed to TDE’. (WRPD, 2020), Kendrick and Schoolboy are rappers from this generation, so Vlad’s cover work has a more professional and up to date look. Therefore, this makes the album more visually appealing, due to the high quality of the camera and technology advances however he still captures a gritty look which was prevalent in the 90s.
Sepetov speaks on Q by stating, ‘Schoolboy Q’s music is very intimidating and gritty which I want to transcend in the artwork as I do listen to the projects before I design however each artist's approach to the sound and vision are unique’. (Sisley, 2016) Vlad’s approach when designing album covers is taking in the music to produce a piece that resembles the project and feelings had. Paul Turland made an interesting comment stating, ‘For me I didn’t have the visual stimulus first it always came after because, you would hear things and be like what was that then the visual aspect would come afterwards, and you would get a sense of what it was’. (See Appendix 1) This comment by Paul supports the previous statement by Vlad. Vlad making sure he listens to the album to get a feel for what it is and then designing based on the feeling and vibe he gets is from a designer’s standpoint. As a consumer Paul has the same process however from listening. He gets a better understanding of the cover and how it relates. The statement is significant as it recognises hip hop’s impact on design as a designer and a consumer, as they use the same processes to visualise music. This translates well with the cover art due to the designer’s creativity.
The image above is Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron album (See Fig. 3) that Vlad designed which we can see the first release with his daughter and the deluxe release with Schoolboy in a ski mask. In an interview with Hot 97 Q speaks on the album covers design himself by saying, ‘I’m robbing and stealing but I’m doing all this bad to do good for my daughter so everything I speak on in the album that’s negative was to provide a better life for my daughter which is the oxymoron in the album’ (Schoolboy Q Hot 97, 2014) he goes on to say, ‘My daughter looks innocent but is still mean mugging with my hat which perceives she’s on top of the
throne’. (Genius, 2014) The imagery in this album is outstanding, Q stating the oxymoron is him doing bad to do good for his daughter the having a picture of his daughter who is dressed like her dad and scowling at the camera yet giving and innocent look. The album talks about his childhood and the type of things he had to go through and do as a member of a gang in a poverty-stricken part of Los Angeles. The black cover with the black and white image and white type works well, as it gives it a mysterious, dark, and gritty vibe which Vlad had mentioned before. The musical content is gritty street stories, and the cover transcends what the project entails perfectly which the imagery of a child having that look in her eye to Q in the mask which lets you know as a consumer what he is exactly about.
Vlad designed Kendrick Lamar’s to Pimp a Butterfly which, ‘Was a perfect soundtrack for the political shift that would face American culture following the release’. (Vlad Sepetov |
Kendrick Lamar 2022). The album was released leading up to the 2016 elections and the album strongly reflects on the politics of being a black man in America with society against you. The title, ‘which pays homage to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird cleverly, is a metaphor for literally exploiting something as wonderful and carefree as a butterfly. Many hip hop figures have deciphered this as the United States exploiting black culture’.
(Chinapen, 2021) Hip hop was an underground culture at first and the influence it is having on design and fashion is explored within this thesis, but the fact that the culture has been exploited to a point that people are trying to control a culture that isn’t theirs. Martin Donnelly speaks on graffiti stating, ‘Well essentially, anything that you do, you want more and more people to see it, and you want to become popular and surely graffiti is all about that really, isn't it? It was about getting your name out on the wall. So did I even think it would be as big as it did? I don't know. It was in my world’. (See Appendix 2) In the early days it was very underground and outside people didn’t understand it however, now in the 2010s everything hip hop embodies from the injustice to hard living is being exploited which Kendrick wants to get across to his consumer through the imagery and resonating lyrics. Both of Sepetov’s covers have a similar vibe with the black and white which gives off a gritty feel which the musicians are aiming for due to their background.
The imagery Vlad created, mirrors the musical content Kendrick speaks on as the cover is, ‘About taking people of my neighbourhood around the world to allow them to share my experiences. These people are viewed as threats to society, and the judge is one person who negatively reflects their lives which is why the judge is laid out on the ground’ .
(Kendrick Lamar Explains ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ Album Artwork, 2015) Lamar speaks on his cover representing a lower income people not having the chance to travel to places like the White House. From the album cover above (See Fig. 4) as a consumer seeing as Kendrick says “menaces” with a judge unconscious, provides an imagery of a revolution that needs to happen and minorities sticking up for themselves which he touches on through the lyrics in the album. Martin Donnelly discusses the legibility of album covers by saying, ‘Covers demand more creativity because hip hop is so visually saturated … so using as many visual mediums is how … do something creatively different which is interesting with Kendrick Lamar. That cover outside of the White House with all the gang members is a powerful cover as it is photographic’. (See Appendix 2) Martin speaks on the creativity that Lamar has in his covers. Vlad captures the message the Kendrick wants to put out into the world as a conscious rapper in 2015 which was pivotal times with elections around the corner that would change America forever.
Fig. 5 Album Covers Influence (2022)
When questioned to what extent do album covers influence your decision, 65% of people feel that album covers design has an impact on their consumerism. (See Fig. 5) A participant stated, ‘The album cover tells you the vibe of the album before you listen to it. Covers can depict the rappers feeling for example, the cover from Views shows Drake above the clouds suggesting that he’s higher than other rapper’s’. (See Appendix 4) This answer suggests that the consumer understood the rapper’s feelings by the cover portrayal which proves covers have an impact on consumers thoughts and makes them contemplate the music they are listening to, to transform within the artists thought process. A contradicting response in the survey is, ‘Many of my favourite albums may not have the best cover art, can’t judge an album by its cover’. (See Appendix 4) This response gives an insight to a consumer who relies solely on the music as consumers invested in the culture, are more likely to listen based on other factors. Paul Turland had mentioned in correlation, ‘Showbiz and Ag’s first album Runaway Slave, I love the album but the type for it but it seems like they’re changing their mind daily’. (See Appendix 4). This is a perfect example of the answer in the survey, Paul is Hip Hop connoisseur and even though the cover didn’t attract him he still consumed it and it is one of his favourite albums. The typography used isn’t enticing however in this case the music content shines through and going back to the survey there were a range of answers varying from it affecting their consumability and not affecting it. This chapter explored the impact of design in album covers and through the research it’s understood that design is a very integral part in the consumption of music. Primary research conducted backed up the fact that design in hip hop covers is essential as it helps to visualise the music better.
As indicated by, Romero & John, (2012) ‘Fashion is a form of self-expression and desire, which just like the music is, a formidable force when representing social class, success, and wealth’. Hip Hop represents the streets and the less fortunate so growing up not affording what you want makes individuals hustle harder thus the connect between the music and the fashion as fashion is self-expression just like the music and they go hand in hand. In the early days of hip hop, ‘Performers like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five embraced the theatrical side of disco with extravagant outfits and knee-high boots however, RUN DMC boosted the hip hop look when they sported casual streetwear’. (Shackelford, 2022) Hip Hop in the early days was very party based which is why performers were wearing extravagant attire. (See Fig. 6) The image below presents how artists used to dress, and the image perceived was fun compared to years on where RUN DMC adopted streetwear which represented drug dealers.
Romero & John, (2012) stated ‘RUN DMC made history in fashion and music by being the first non-athletes with a sneaker endorsement after Adidas … saw the performance of “My Adidas” where thousands of fans held their sneakers in the air which showed how influential rappers are within the realm of fashion’. From the image below (See Fig. 7) and the quote it can be made clear that RUN DMC had the status to influence their fans which means it’s a possibility for others. They promoted the shoes organically and as indicated by Paul Turland, ‘I had the black pair, but I never took the laces out because I couldn’t wear them’. (See
Appendix 1) This is an interesting look which makes the point of hip hop impacting fashion because even though you couldn’t wear the shoes properly without laces millions of people around the world wore them like that because of RUN DMC. A rap group changed a basketball shoe forever.
During this period Hip Hop was new and fashion wasn’t looked at as hip hop inspired in fact, before rappers, ‘Drug dealers were the style icons in the community that were the ones who genuinely possessed the wealth and expensive items that most rappers rapped about in their lyrics’. (DeLeon, 2018). This speaks a lot on hip hop’s impact on fashion as at that point it was non-existent, it was drug dealers influencing individuals. Nowadays everyone wants to be a rapper and most drug dealers turn to rap to make an honest living for themselves but at that time the opportunity wasn’t there. An important figure in Hip Hop’s fashion world is Dapper Dan and according to, Romero & John (2012) ‘Had a unique approach as he specialized in manufacturing clothes in replica luxury fabrics. Dapper Dan took RUN DMC’s
streetwear approach however, incorporated luxury wear with streetwear which is very important when you look at the impact hip hop has had on fashion as Dan started to mix two different worlds. Martin Donnelly mentioned, ‘Without his interaction the I don't think it would have anywhere near the same sort of volume in terms of how big and loud hip hop was at that time’. (See Appendix 2) This explains that Dapper Dan had a major influence and tied up the worlds of luxury and streetwear before it was imaginable to the point that Gucci copied his designs which is made evident by Wilson, (2020) as they state, ‘Gucci clearly copied Dan’s fur jacket with enormous puff sleeves plastered in logos, this was established instantaneously by the hip hop community’. From the image below (See Fig. 8) the style of the jacket had been copied further proves t that Dan was decades ahead of his time as hip hop clearlyimpacted and influenced fashions years later
Hip hop always represented bright colours and big typefaces due to the graffiti influence mentioned earlier on in the thesis Tommy Hilfiger was extremely popular in the 90s due to its bright colours which resonated with the culture. Tommy Hilfiger mentions, ‘Brands had attractive models, I preferred musicians and cool individuals which were attracted due to the street look which made sense in the 90s as rappers started to include our clothes in their lyrics’ (Aaliyah - 90s Fashion Rewind Interview with Tommy Hilfiger, 2021) Tommy suggests rappers were slowly shaping his then preppy wear to streetwear which he adapted
for. He understood the influence rappers carried as he himself saw them as cool people and as stated earlier with RUN DMC that was made evident in the 80s that rappers could have an impact outside of music. DSM founder Tanvir Singh also spoke on not using models and used his friends because, ‘They were the people who I would speak to first, so it was important for me to use the people that helped make the brand too’. (See Appendix 3) This statement is a similar mindset to Tommy in the sense they both wanted to keep the brand organic, the people endorsing the brand were people who mattered to the culture which is an important as years later upcoming brands are following this which shows the impact that using relevant people has on consumers. A participant when asked about favourite brands, stated, ‘Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger as I am a big fan of east coast music and rappers like Raekwon and Ghostface heavily influenced my love for the brand. (See Appendix 4) This further suggests the impact rappers have on consumers is psychological because when they listen to these rappers, they want to embody their persona and dressing like them would help them to feel like their favourite rappers.
Tommy’s popularity increased through endorsements of rappers; however, the 1996 campaign became influential as it starred R&B singer and hip hop style icon, Aaliyah whose style was Hip Hop influenced which had not been seen before by someone from another genre. The campaign consists of a video of Aaliyah posing for a photoshoot which can be seen above, (See Fig. 9) as she is describing features she got from her parents and goes on to say at the end, ’I got Tommy Jeans, he’s not my dad but I’ve got Tommy Jeans’! (AaliyahTommy Hilfiger Commercial, 2017). This closing statement plays off the previous statements as she names everything she’s gotten from her parents except the jeans. This campaign was especially important at this time because Aaliyah made if acceptable to be a tom boy in
R&B, while still being feminine. Aaliyah gave a voice to tom boy women and inspired a lot of women to adopt the style. Martin expressed, ‘I can't recall if LL Cool J did Calvin Klein, but that would have been the typical thing because Calvin and LL worked because he was proper buff, and the girls all loved him’. (See Appendix 2) This statement touches on brands using typically attractive artists to promote their brands as they understood the psychology of marketing which is, if people are attracted to someone, they are most likely to tune in. This relates back to Aaliyah as she was pushing womenswear however using someone popular would help get the brands name out there more. From the research it can be understood that campaigns may have worked in the 90s however today, in a technology driven time campaigns don’t have the same impact as there are other ways to consume advertisements. Form the image below, (See Fig. 10) it can be seen that, majority of the participants had chosen music being an impact on their style and no one had chosen campaigns, 7.7% chose a mixture of both and the same percentage of participants chose neither which proves that within this generation campaigns aren’t impacting people as much it is more to do with other factors such as the artists they listen to.
Virgil Abloh who like Cey, was submerged in hip hop culture amongst fashion and graffiti scene. According to, Takanashi (2021) ‘His work as a designer was influenced by hip-hop from the 1990s, skateboarding, and graffiti ’Virgil is a new age Cey who pushed his talents further when he founded Off-White and Creatively Directed Louis Vuitton’s menswear. Meeting Kanye led him to create artwork for Kanye’s upcoming albums at the time. ‘He's the strategist and as I think of concepts, Virgil can take them and construct them since he is an architect’ (Virgil Abloh: How Kanye’s Apprentice Stole His Dream Job. 2020) This statement from West is vital as it proves he was never limited to graffiti which can be seen below, (See Fig. 11) which further proves the fact that hip hop directly impacts fashion and music because if it wasn’t for his hip hop influence, he wouldn’t be the top designer he was
who transferred his skills from underground art to high end designing. An album cover produced by Cey can be seen below where according to, Takanashi (2021) ‘Riccardo Tisci, the creative director of Givenchy, was the ideal choice by Virgil to create this cover’. He had the creative mind to see an artist who matched the feel of an album as it has a luxury feel linking back to the name of the cover, Watch the Throne. This mindset or creative directing in hip hop early on led him into later roles which will be explored further.
When asked about favourite brands a participant stated, ‘Jordan brand as it is mentioned by rappers in their songs which can reach a large audience and rappers often show off their Jordan collections which influenced what shoes I buy’. (See Appendix 4) This answer speaks on the fact rappers repeatedly mention Jordan’s and displaying their collections psychology makes consumers feel they need them which is brand promotion itself and the fact that Nike is the most recognisable brands in the world. Off-White was founded after his time designing for Kanye and Virgil decided to excel within fashion when he according to Hendricks, (2021) stated, ‘Virgil deconstructed ten iconic Nike sneakers including Jordan’s
with X-Acto knives, Sharpies and Zip ties which he referred to as sculptures’ . Virgil broke barriers, most designers don’t fully immerse themselves into fashion by sculpting products and referring to them as sculptures which suggests his products are pieces of art as they reach high resell prices due to the uniqueness which can be seen below. (See Fig. 12) The collaboration with Nike really took his brand to another level as Nike is an established brand and if there is enough hype surrounding it consumers will engage. Virgil was always hands on and took streetwear and Hip Hop to another level by breaking the mould by making his brand more than streetwear and higher end which would eventually catch the attention of luxury fashion designer brand, Louis Vuitton.
As stated by, Bobowicz, (2021), ‘Virgil was later employed as creative director of Louis Vuitton Menswear making him the first African-American to become an executive of a significant European fashion house’ . Nike catapulted him into the mainstream but is still associated with hip hop however, Louis Vuitton is so far from that culture for hip to be the director for a luxury brand is ground-breaking. This chapter explored the influence fashion has on consumers directly, the research has proved that they are the direct influences and practitioner’s such as Virgil and Dapper Dan have shaped the fashion realm by influencing luxury fashion brands with their hip hop take which is still apparent today. The research also proved that campaigns aren’t as effective as consumers tend to not consume campaigns as much which is made evident in the primary research.
Conclusion
Investigating the impact Hip Hop culture has had on design and fashion has been exceptionally interesting. Hip Hop has come an extremely long way which is evident in the research assessed in the thesis. The research within this paper proves hip hop culture on a whole has impacted design due to the consumerism based on cover designs and the length that practitioners have taken hip hop culture and put it at the forefront of design and fashion by designing album covers and luxury brands.
The first chapter explored a case study on practitioner Cey Adams who transformed himself from a graffiti artist to a graphic designer as he took his illustrative talents and applied them to album covers, magazines and fashion in the hip hop world. He worked on some of the most iconic albums and helped to tell that story of the album further through his designs. Cey set the path for the following years to come which further impacted the design world which is explored further in the thesis.
In the second chapter, design playing a role when consuming music was explored. A survey gave an insight to how consumers view hip hop covers and their assumptions of the covers in terms of, if they would listen to an album based off the design. Interviewing hip hop album collector, Paul Turland was very helpful when understanding the mindset of a consumer who is fully immersed in hip hop. He gave an insight to how he viewed album covers and how they impacted him positively and negatively. Speaking with Graphic Designer, Martin Donnelly was also insightful as it was important to get a graphic designers view and perspective on album covers which provided a better understanding on how branding had been done effectively.
Chapter 3 explored the timeline of fashion and explained the changes within hip hops fashion which from the research, proved that the early days were influenced by rappers themselves through music which RUN DMC did when they transformed disco wear to streetwear. Campaigns were explored and the supporting research proved that campaigns like Tommy Hilfiger were using artists which made the brand organic however, campaigns weren’t impactful compared to music videos and the overall presence of artists sporting certain items such as RUN DMC with Adidas Superstars and Raekwon and Ghostface with Tommy Hilfiger. The chapter also investigated the connection that turned streetwear into luxury wear within hip hop though icons such as Dapper Dan and Virgil which really pushed the narrative that hip hops impact within the fashion realm was significant for it to transcend into another world of fashion. Tanvir Singh provided understanding of upcoming brands within the culture and stated, ‘I would like for it to have its own genre where it can allow pretty much anyone to wear it in any aspect … I don’t want to strictly put it under one genre of fashion’. (See Appendix 3) Tan seems like he wants to go the similar route Vigil
went which proves that Virgil is influencing the new generation of hip hop inspired designers to think bigger than streetwear
In Summary, the investigation of hip hops impact on design and fashion has been incredibly thought-provoking which further developed personal knowledge within the sectors of album cover design and brand design and promotion within fashion. Exploring consumers perspectives on album cover designs was very insightful as it gave a better understanding on album covers mattering when consuming music which from the research in this paper it is made evident as is gives the consumer something to visualise and help tell the story of that album cover so, album cover designs in hip hop are very impactful. The investigation on fashion was also immensely insightful as it provided an understanding of the impact hip hop had on fashion through direct influence by musicians and, practitioners impact which pushed a sub-genre into the mainstream. Projects in the future would greatly benefit from this research as it has provided examples of how consumers perceive design within hip hop through interviews and surveys and how fashion on a whole is perceived through the influence of changes within it due to rappers and how practitioners with hip hop roots have shaped the culture years on.
List of Images
Figure. 1. Mannion, J. (1996) Jay Z, Reasonable Doubt. Priority Records [Photograph]
Available from:
https://genius.com/albums/Jay-z/Reasonable-doubt [Accessed 12 November 2022]
Figure. 2. Mannion, J. (1998) DMX, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. Def Jam Records [Photograph] Available from:
https://genius.com/Dmx-flesh-of-my-flesh-blood-of-my-blood-lyrics [Accessed 12 November 2022]
Figure. 3. Reyes, R. (2014) Schoolboy Q, Oxymoron. Top Dawg Entertainment [Photograph]
Available from:https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/schoolboy-q-unveilsoxymoron-album-covers-debuts-new-song-5877096/ [Accessed 14 November 2022]
Fig. 4. Rouvre, D (2015) Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly. Top Dawg [Photograph]
Available from:
https://freshoutthedeli.com/2022/05/21/to-pimp-a-butterfly-kendrick-lamar-★★★★★/ [Accessed 14 November 2022]
Fig. 5. Chumber, J. (2022) Album Covers Influence. [Photograph] In possession of: Jordan Chumber
Fig. 6. (N/A) (1980) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five [Photograph] Available from:
https://hiphopdatabase.fandom.com/wiki/Grandmaster_Flash_and_the_Furious_Five_(rap _group) [Accessed 8 November 2022]
Fig. 7. Beckman, J. (1984) Fans holding superstars in the crowd [Photograph] Available from:
https://theface.com/style/adidas-superstar-anniversary-hip-hop-rap-run-dmc-volume-4issue-002 [Accessed 15 November 2022]
Fig. 8. (N/A) (2017) Gucci Copies Dapper Dan [Photograph] Available from:
https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/36144/1/gucci-responds-to-claims-it-copieddapper-dan-look-jacket-cruise-2018-show [Accessed 12 November 2022]
Fig. 9. Hilfiger, J. (1996) Aaliyah in the Tommy Hilfiger Campaign [Photograph] Available from: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/tommy-hilfiger-outstanding-achievementaward-interview [Accessed 12 November 2022]
Fig. 10. Chumber, J. (2022) Fashion Influence. Photograph] In possession of: Jordan Chumber
Fig. 11. Tisci, R. (2011) Jay Z and Kanye West, Watch the Throne. Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation and Def Jam Records. [Photograph] Available from: https://genius.com/albums/Jay-z-and-kanye-west/Watch-the-throne [Accessed 16 November 2022]
Fig 12. Nike (2018) Off-White X Nike Collaboration. [Photograph] Available from: https://solecollector.com/news/2018/04/virgil-abloh-off-white-nike-the-ten-collectioninstagram-raffle [Accessed 17 November 2022]
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Appendices
Appendix 1 - Interview with Hip Hop album collector Paul
This is an interview I done with Paul Turland who is an avid collector of Hip Hop Vinyl’s therefore I felt like it would be interesting to get a consumers look on album covers designs. He has been collecting Vinyl’s since the start of Hip Hop and has a slight background in design, so it was important to see album covers were perceived when they come out and how they are perceived now.
What is your earliest memory of Hip Hop?
I think the earliest is hearing the message on the radio on holiday with my parents and the loop had me like what is this it blew me away. Years after that I still didn’t know what that was as I rediscovered hip hop later mainly in the late 80s when Public Enemy came along which led me into Gang Starr, EPMD and all the other East coast stuff. My stuff was grunge rock first but because Public Enemy had that cross over me and my friends got into them, and Beastie Boys and I Just ended up sticking with it.
What was your first album you received/brought?
Beats, Rhymes and Baselines. The Best of Rap – Complication of different albums UK Rap Pack – Complication of different albums
What is your top 5 favourite album covers of all time, and why?
Step in the Arena by Gang Starr, the thing I love about this is just form the cover u know exactly what it’s about, the street mentality and graffiti is a part of it also I love the Gang Starr logo as well as EMPD. Gang Starr had good photographers as the visual aspect was captured well throughout and the graffiti element always runs through it.
My second one is Only Built for Cuban Linx by Raekwon, I absolutely love the photography of this one and at the time, I specifically liked the typography as I love the Raekwon logo but looking back it is pretty crap it is horribly put together. I think that for me the cover is just all about Ghost and Rae. It had the postproduction of the high contrast but everyone at the time was using the photograph negative effect which gave it that sticky effect it was just a really high contrast cover I absolutely love it.
The next one is The Beatnuts Ep, Intoxicated Demons, what I love is the devils tail which relates to intoxicated demons which they have ripped off from an old jazz album, I loved this design because I thought it was hip hop, but it was really taken from all the blue notes stuff.
Public Enemy takes a nation of millions, I think for me the greatest record of all time I have 5 copies and have just given one to my son which makes me very happy. The cover with Chuck D and Flava is just so great, everything from the back cover to the photography. Just a fantastic record with fantastic photography and the PE logo as well is just that classic logo and Chuck D designed it himself. A lot of the imagery behind them I love. The cover just tells me exactly what the albums about its like you’re not going to lock us down which it says on the cover and then the opening lines the noise the impact, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up just thinking about it.
The next one is Main Source Breaking Atoms; I can listen to the whole album all the way through. It’s a weird cover in the fact they have a stylus cutting the record with all the atoms coming off it, its nuts. I love the record and for me it’s more about the record than the imagery, but they serve each other, the more I love the music the more I love the imagery. I was listening to a lot of gangster rap but when this came out it was different but at the time the gangster stuff was the musical equivalent of a movie like listening to Kool G Rap with the way he describes stuff. I started to listen to Main Source, Showbiz and AG, Lord Finesse and I found there was people who weren’t talking about shootings and Public Enemy was the positive side and I listened to a lot of De La and Tribe. Visually it was really appealing and because I didn’t know what to expect from the music even though it was traditional hip hop.
The last one is Big Daddy Kane Long Live the Kane, Kane is my favourite rapper of all time, I love the pimped-out imagery its absolutely bananas! This was the first ghetto gold in terms of this is where we want to be, but I just love this album.
Beastie Boys license to kill is a brilliant album cover as you think it’s a Beastie Boys Jet then you turn it over and it’s into a building which I feel is a great image.
Illmatic is just an amazing cover as he has himself as a child which no one is doing and is all about bragging how rich hell be and how he is the man. I think the typeface used wasn’t the best choice using the same for the title and the name it feels like the early days of photoshop.
What album covers you feel missed the mark with communicating to you as a consumer correctly?
I loved the first Wu Tang album and when the Method Man one came out, I liked that they inverted the W to be the M but when they tried to do it with Liquid Swords by GZA I was like what are they doing it was like a step too far. At the time I wanted to illustrate comics at art school, but I was into British comics that were heavily painted, and I wasn’t into the Marvel aesthetics as they were behind the British Comics.
Showbiz and Ag’s first album Runaway Slave, I love the album but I don’t know who done the type for it, but it seems like they’re changing their mind daily. Its great record terrible cover.
Gang Starr Moment of Truth in 98 eels someone went too far in Photoshop and AfterEffects. Even the type face feels like my first Photoshop designs, but the album was good.
The Chronic is another one I just don’t get it, I know it’s supposed to be a pack of rizlas but it’s just dreadful, the type in the corner is not legible. Doggystyle by snoop was like dong let your mates do your album cover but that goes back to the Funkadelic illustration which I wasn’t aware of. Some parliament albums had semi pornographic illustrations which pretty much where that Doggystyle cover came from. I heard the album for the first time, and I was blown away.
Do you feel album covers have an impact on you listening to the album?
When I listened to Shook Ones Part II by Mobb Deep I didn’t understand the concept of the cover until I was in New York, and we walked into the projects and the shook one’s sign is the sign in their projects.
For me I didn’t have the visual stimulus first it always came after because, you would hear things and be like what was that then the visual aspect would come afterwards and you would get a sense of what it was.
Do you feel any album cover has helped you transform into that rapper’s world?
The first Wu Tang album had all their faces hidden, kung fu vibe and played on that with the music and was almost like u don’t need to see us we know were great and we don’t need gimmicks.
On Loud records as well as the Wu Tang albums The Alkaholiks was very different with a lot of 40 Oz, and I was like okay I know what I’m going to expect from this like the drunken bragging rights.
I started to listen to Main Source, Showbiz and AG, Lord Finesse and I found there was people who weren’t talking about shootings and Public Enemy was the positive side and I listened to a lot of De La and Tribe. Visually it was really appealing and because I didn’t know what to expect from the music even though it was traditional hip hop.
Some of the breakdance albums visuals such as The Rocksteady crew and others on Tommy Boy Records were all about graffiti and that hand drawn aesthetic and the tommy boy logo came from graffiti too but that aesthetic excited me because it didn’t feel conventional, I was draw to it feeling subversive. I’ve never been a massive fan of graffiti but parts of it and when in the aesthetic. I really like but the breakdance pulled me through then I got into it like that.
Puffy had albums more stylized, Biggies first album was designed well puffy was on it with the marketing. He changed the dynamic as he made it more acceptable up to 50 Cent with his first album as it was iconic. The big tracksuits as well if I see an album with that, I’d almost didn’t care about the record I was like well I like this guy’s tracksuit he defo has good taste.
His comments on fashion
Skate culture informed how we dressed in terms of my circle of friends, but I remember buying a jacket that was brightly coloured and I couldn’t pull it off. I was hanging around with a lot of indie kids.
The most B Boy stuff I feel is when NWA and a lot of west coast rappers wore black which influenced me with the shirts and baggy jeans.
When RUN DMC done the collab with Adidas I had the black pair, but I never took the laces out because I couldn’t wear them.
Appendix 2 – Interview with Graphic Designer Martin Donnelly
This is an interview I conducted with Graphic Designer, Martin Donnelly who is the creative behind, My Name Is. This consists of graphically designed images of rap phenomes which tests your hip hop knowledge to see if you can artist from their real name. Martin Produced a hip hop version of Guess Who where he sells them as prints and cards. I felt that’s interviewing Martin would be effective as he is a Hip Hop fan and a Graphic designer which is exactly what my thesis brings together
What are your thoughts on graffiti and as a designer do you feel it is an art form?
My engagement with hip hop started in the early 1980s, that was really when graffiti was still in its infancy and its relation to hip hop was very much that breakdancing, graffiti and
hip hop came hand in hand. I adored graffiti especially not knowing myself as a creative, but I loved drawing and the visual world of hip hop as graffiti was an outlet for me to express this vibrant culture form another country which transported me in that world. Subway art and the art of spray can was the first person to document graffiti in a published book and treat it like an art form. So, for me very much is an art form. To me it is an art form but there are degrees to it as an art form and I don't necessarily just think that people that get into galleries with street art maybe graffiti, as in some places as stood still for a long time. There's some people experimenting it, but I think the very nature of graffiti is that it t should also evolve and to some degree some of it hasn't and the stuff that really interests me about graffiti is the stuff that has taken that original art form and that original way of thinking, the idea of getting your name out into the world and you know kind of rather than through some sort of official line of creating your own brands. And, you know, starting your own business is up and having your name in lights. These guys just were all about the fact that that was never going to happen to them because they were from these real deprived areas and the way that they were going to get their names known and become these kind of alter egos was through graffiti and through, making their mark on the subway trains of New York so that train just travelled round the entire city with their name on it so you can see from a branding perspective, that's exactly what branding is, isn't it? That's about getting your name in front of your audience, so all of that stuff I absolutely love by and the older I've got, the more I kind of see a sloppy side to it and I get really excited when there are people that create work that feels challenging or that feels precise, detailed kind of laboured, over passionate, and that's what really gets me excited about Graffiti, so the short answer is yes, I do consider it an art form, but I don't think everybody that creates graffiti is an artist.
It was seminal in what it was doing was that the art scene in New York that was very much, the Keith Haring's of the world even Andy Warhol’s stuff was still happening at that point. But Graffiti and hip hop was something that had infiltrated America and has really been recognised and because that connexion with New York, everything that comes out of New York is cool.
Did you ever get in into the graffiti?
No, not from the illegal sense of it. I think I I've got books and books of sketches and drawings of stuff that I did over years. I used to have so many of them, and I was I was trying to find stuff in my own house recently and I couldn't find anything, but just remembered how many of those I would have line around. I remember I was working in a in a bar and I would be in the cloakroom but there would be hours where I would be sat doing nothing so I would always take paper and pens with me and just doodle and would always be creating letter forms but graffiti style so it was really abstract and elaborate and it’s just one of those things where it can be quite a mindful thing and I don't think I've ever really thought that at
the time, but it was probably something that was just really quite relaxing, drawing is really relaxing.
Graffiti has evolved and many taggers have developed into graphic designers too. Did you see this happening in the early days and why?
Yeah, well, I think that that. I mean there's loads of arguments about how hip hop you know. You could argue the hip hop, possibly the culture of it was exploited in the way that black culture is exploited, and then it becomes the masses, and you could also argue with the fact that what comes out of black culture is essentially so interesting and so energetic and so new and so fresh that is why everybody wants a piece of it. I was so immersed in that culture at that time up until kind of the mid 90s and that I didn't want it to become bigger I wanted it to be mine, you know I suppose we were still quite tribal in Britain in terms of you listen to a kind of music and you were labelled that kind of person and whether you were an indie kid or a hip hop kid or you were into heavy metal or you know all of those other kind of groups. That was your thing, and that's what you stuck with, and it when somebody becomes mainstream you feel like you know that yet, those conversations where it's selling out now and they're kind of becoming commercial and I liked it more when no one knew about it. Well essentially, anything that you do, you want more and more people to see it, and you want to become popular and surely graffiti is all about that really, isn't it? It was about getting your name out on the wall. So, did I even think it would be as big as it did? I don't know. It was in my world.
Music
As a consumer with a creative mindset, when you consume music is the album cover important to you?
Yes, would be the answer straight answer to that. I think I've always judged the book by its cover, I think also being in Britain in the 1980s there wasn't a great deal of access to hip hop. One hour a week on one show where I could actually listen to what was coming out of America and that was it was the Mike Allen radio show and I think it was a big American radio show, but Mike Allen was a white guy in he's 40s or 50s that used to massively represent hip hop and that would be my only window into hip hop. The other way was I would see it because MTV was around as well that wasn't that accessible to me. The only way I would really see hip hop was when I would walk into a record store, and I would go to the hip hop section and look through all the albums and find one that I hadn't seen before so that the covers for hip hop albums were so massively important.
It showed me the fashions. It showed me the artists it. It gave me a glimpse in the window into their world in a way that nothing else was. So, the only real representation I would have of that culture was through those album covers and through listening to that music so that the image that was on that album cover was always massively important because it gave me in a in a very old school music marketing way. It showed me who the artist was. It showed me who that crew was, or you know that kind of concept was it would be very visual, and you would get the artist on the album cover.
The other person's name, though, was going to mention in terms of hip hop and fashion. Is Dapper Dan he was a tailor In New York that all these brand-new rap acts would go to him and say we can't afford a Louis Vuitton and Gucci and Chanel can you make us an outfit we're about to have our album cover done make us an outfit and he would. He just absolutely ripped together and design in no time whatsoever and he would counterfeit Gucci jackets in this like mad vibrant leather with all the interiors. So, he he's now an only very recently been recognised as one of the top 100 most influential fashion designers of 20th century even though he was counterfeiting absolute premium brands and the impact that he had on hip hop culture. Without his interaction the I don't think it would have anywhere near the same sort of volume in terms of how big and loud hip hop was at that time.
It's massively important, so that's another thing that gave me the window into what this world is about that is the lavishness of big brands of the gold chains of the success, the story of you know the guy from the ghetto that now is on their album cover with millions of dollars in their hands or the gold dripping off them. The diamonds, all of it might have been completely fake. But look what you've done for a culture and an inspiration for young black people to sort of say you can make money; you can be like me, and you can have that sort of aspiration.
I think it's you know it's that visual image has been one of the most impactful elements of hip hop. I think it's quite important because the colour the loudness without his interaction I don't think it would have anywhere near the same sort of volume in terms of how big and loud hip hop was at that time.
In terms of legibility of covers do you like illustrated covers or professional images which are graphically designed?
I think more so now I would say It's always subjective, isn't it? Because a great photograph is that's presented well is as impactful as anything else. In terms of artwork or an art form I think that gone are the days of us just looking at the straight image of the artist and the
crew on the cars throwing money in the air. It demands more creativity because hip hop is so visually saturated that it demands to be seen more so it must work harder so using as many visual mediums as possible is how you break through the same stuff and do something creatively different which is interesting with Kendrick Lamar. That big album cover outside of the White House with all the gangbangers and all his people is a powerful cover as it is photographic. As it goes on he understands the creativity that is needed to really explore what he is as an artist, perhaps to some degree that’s what it is now that there are some educated people in hip hop that understand what they want to do creatively and how to explore it and I think Kendrick is a great example of that and I think his Glastonbury set as well was theatrical and really abstract really thought provoking, but not in a traditional hip hop sense. It wasn't just the strutting up and down the stage, you know where you were kind of bouncing off 1 another. It was him and an entire performance of dancers and theatrics and light I mean even Kanye's Glastonbury set was all about theatre and drama one person on the stage. So, you know stage presence and stage visuals was massively important to now when people aren't selling anywhere near as many records as they as they were. The impact has got to come, and the artistry and the creativity must come from those live shows so that that is that memorable impact.
Again, I think it's a graphic design thing, but actually it's the branding, it's the marketing, it's the creativity. Visual communication is everything. That is what a rapper looks like to how it looks on that album cover to how he communicates and the subjects he talks about that's this branding this is somebody's. You know when we when we think of brands, and you think of Jay-Z, and you think of Kanye, and you think that these big people.
Fashion
From a graphic designer’s standpoint what fashion campaigns stand out to you and why?
I mean, I can't recall if LL Cool J did a Calvin Klein, but that would have been the typical thing because Calvin and LL worked because he was absolutely beef cake you know he was proper buff, and the girls all loved him. The idea that it would be for a Calvin Klein where the jeans were hanging down and then I'll call Jay was there. You know, that's the sort of thing that you would get it, but I can't think of any campaigns off the top of my head, I don't recall it being fashion led cause there weren't a lot of typical pin up models related hip hop models. You can't imagine the Wu Tang clan for instance, In that sort of scenario where as they were all absolute advocates, a poster boys for hip hop, but that sort of attitude wrong.
You would get people like Marky Mark who is Mark Wahlberg and became the Calvin Klein's model because, again, he was a model he was buff and always had his top off. The baggy jeans were there, he dabbled with a bit of hip hop, but it was terrible. So, you know, even that kind of like you know teenage poster models.
In the 90s and 2000s how was you consuming campaigns mainly, what I mean is how was you finding out about the latest trends?
Well, I think the thing through hip hop was that it that through the 90s it became more saturated, so the more we got music videos as a terrestrial thing, the more we would see hip hop and the more that you would see hip hop groups touring in this country and then the more commercial that became the you know it became a lot more accessible at that point as an art form because you could guarantee that even within the music charts to be four or five hip hop artists in the top 10.
What’s is your relationship with hip hop magazines, did you ever consume them or design any?
Yeah so. at the time, which would have been the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, it definitely was because I remember that time, I used to buy a magazine called hip Hop Connection. I would cut all the pictures out of them and have them all over my walls. But there was also a strong UK hip hop scene coming through and so you know whether that was in a commercial sense or an underground sense. There were quite a few groups coming through and that was new altogether.
There were people like The London posse, Overlord X, Suns of noise, Battle creek Brawl but they would. They were all they were supporting. Big American acts. When I went to see, I went to see N.W.A In Birmingham, there were about five or six UK acts that were in front of them so that the Demon Boys and the London posse supporting them, and they were it was proper. It was different to American Music because I had that they had this kind of slightly rude boy cockney accent thing going on and culturally they talked about things that were relevant to the UK but it was taking from the way that American hip hop was being made and because that was on the rise this magazine called hip Hop Connexion, came along that talked about both sides of the pond so it was UK and US.
The Source was a massive American looking magazine, it was the hip hop, Rolling Stones magazine and it looked like Rolling Stones, but had this other attitude to it. So that never quite appealed to me because I just I didn't quite like the way it looked. I felt perhaps it was too polished and it was missing the point a little bit.
But from a photographer's point of view Janet Beckman was a British photographer that went over to New York to photograph she. She was a punk photographer, went over to New York to work for record labels and started on the smaller record, labels cause the big record labels sort of didn't understand what she was doing, but she went to some of the smaller
record labels where all the hip hop artists were starting out and she just started documenting and photographing hip hop. So most of the album covers that big well known album covers that were really kind of St looking album covers. She photographed all of those in the 1980s, moving through into the 90s. She's got lots of books out on it as well, so it was a weird little kind of British white woman who visually brought hip hop to us whether that was through Salt and Pepper albums through Ultra Magnetic MC albums through EPMD album covers where it was just both members of the EPMD sat on these two great big Range Rovers or Jeeps or whatever they were with all of their Dapper Dan gear on and all of their crew sat in the seats behind, you know it was. It was all about that big family portrait and most of those album covers have that exact same thing, but so she was excellent and a great reference point, I think to look at what she says about hip hop as a culture and about.
Appendix 3 – Interview with Don’t Say Much owner Tanvir Singh
I decided to interview Tanvir Singh the owner of underground brand, “Don’t Say Much”. This is a Birmingham based brand and I felt this was important to see the mindset of a fashion brand owner who was impacted by hip hop. The brand is from the UK, so I felt this take was important to see how a British person and a British brand was impacted by American culture.
1. What's your earliest memory of hip hop?
My earliest memory of hip-hop was listening to the game and 50 Cent’s song how we do on midnight club when is used to play my PSP.
2. What's your earliest memory of fashion mattering to you?
My earliest memory was when my favourite grime artists were wearing Nike tracksuits with air max 90s and it made me want to immediately fit into that fashion aesthetic because it was something that resonated to myself growing up.
3. Who are your fashion influences?
I don’t really have any fashion influences; I get a lot of influences from many different people but more so from the odd person that I see on the street or myself putting fits together that I feel would look good on myself. However, Skepta is someone that I feel has a good style alongside Tyler the Creator and A$AP Rocky. And football has played a massive part in it too, with me incorporating football jersey and jackets with jeans etc.
4. Do you feel that Hip Hop Culture has an impact of the fashion world, if so why?
100% it does as a lot of the artists that are in the culture right now who wear certain clothing really influences the clothing market and that’s why a lot of brands are moving towards hip-hop artist to represent their brands.
5. Has Hip Hop culture impacted your fashion style?
Most definitely has I feel that the New York style of hip-hop has really gravitated me towards wearing baggy jeans with the air force 1s.
6. What is the name of your clothing brand and where does the name derive from?
My brand is called Don’t Say Much, Say Less | Do More, and it is a brand that I had created based upon real life experiences that I was experiencing. A lot of good things that were coming into my life I often used to express it to other people which ended up not going out of the way expected therefore I kind of changed my view and perspective to be someone that is saying less and letting the action and the work do the talking.
7. What made you want to design your own fashion brand?
My love for fashion and wanting to create something different which had more of a influence on people where anyone can wear it and it doesn’t have to be very selective to a certain set of people. I didn’t say that my love for football and incorporate in that with the fashion side of things or something I was very adamant on creating.
8. Which brands or practitioners influenced your brand?
There were not that many brands that really influenced my brand because of how it’s a concept which doesn’t exist however there are certain brands which I feel that I look at and I really admire what they’re doing and how they present them self-such as Palace, Needles, Stussy & Stone Island.
9. What impact did hip hop have on your brand?
Hip-hop had quite a significant impact on my brand with how I visualise my clothing to be very similar in terms of certain aspects. Aesthetics and designs that are already used however flipping them around and turning them into something unique which I feel would change the perspective of the original clothing and show further development on it but pay homage.
10. How did you go about promoting your brand in the early stages?
I began by creating a little bit of a buzz hype which was where I created a T-shirt’s that were designed. created, and owned by friends and family of myself and creating a photo look book of us wearing that T-shirt which caught a lot of hype and a lot of demand for the Tshirt which then gain a lot of attraction from other people to want to buy and to support the brand and keep a look out for what we’re doing but more so gain a good following.
11. Talk to me about some of the campaigns
I had gone to Hong Kong, Dubai, and Japan where I wore T-shirts that had not been released and was set to be public releases. By doing the photo shoots out there, I had created these into mini look books alongside creating mini magazines that are available on our Instagram page which gave a nice aesthetic design which people could see and gain their attention. I also designed them in a way which stood out from other competitors and other start-up brands that were following the simple start-up of taking a picture and just posting. I used my friends that were involved in my brand to model the clothing. They were the people who I would speak to first, so it was important for me to not use models and to use the people that helped make the brand too.
12. What does streetwear mean to you?
Streetwear means a lot to me as it’s something that I’ve grown up on and relate to! It’s also allowed me to express my personality and who I am through the clothing that I wear.
13. Would you define your clothing line as streetwear?
Yes And no, although the brand is in the genre of streetwear a lot of the clothing that we do provide is not just specifically street where it’s pretty much open for anyone it could be worn as Street, casual or designer
14. Would you like DSM to stay as a streetwear brand or would you like it to evolve?
Personally, I would like for it to have its own genre where it can allow pretty much anyone to wear it in any aspect and form whether it is a streetwear brand or as a design a piece or just on a casual day-to-day basis, I don’t want to strictly put it under one genre of fashion.
15. Where do you see DSM in the future, what are your hopes for the brand?
I would like DSM to be a brand which is quite heavily influencing the fashion industry as well as having its own flagship stores around different cities such as New York, Tokyo, Paris, Dubai. Collaborations with my favourite brands growing up would be nice but I’m also working with different football clubs would be amazing as the main aesthetic of the brand
has a big influence around football. Furthermore, reinvest back to where I’m from and the community would be nice as I want to give a lot of opportunities to people that may be struggling to get those opportunities and provide centres and play in spaces to keep the young generation away from trouble and invest into their creativity and talent that they have.
Appendix 4 - Research Survey
This questionnaire was produced and completed on Google Forms to gather an insight on how consumers perceive design within Hip Hop album covers and to help understand consumers mentality when it comes to fashion and how hip hop as a culture has impacted them.
Full Questionnaire below:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRMDYGvZGO1mfA03d79PNHgRNHyFpj37FW wQt0rNDokW5TXA/viewform
It was important to find out how many people that were completing this survey were hip hop fans. I made sure to send it around to friends and family and get them to send it around however it seems like only hip hop fans got a hold of it which is good because someone who doesn’t consume hip music may not be able to answer the questions properly.
I think finding out how people rank the influence of album covers is important as it gave me a better insight to see how many of these hip hop fans are influenced by cover art which would help me to learn the impact design has been having on hip hop music consumerism. Most people stated that covers influence them as a listener however there was mixed opinions as stated below.
Choice: 2
Reason: I don’t really care too much about album covers for it to influence whether I listen to a persons album or not but it does have some small influence if I am going to listen to someone.
Choice: 1
Reason: Many of my favourite albums may not have the best cover art, can’t judge an album by its cover
Choice: 8
Reason: I am a creative individual so when I see good artwork I am always intrigued and being a fan of the music genre helps too
Choice: 9
Reason: The album cover kind of tells you what kind of vibe the album will be like before you listen to it. Album covers can sometimes depict how the rapper is feeling for example
the cover from Views shows Drake above the clouds suggesting that he’s higher than other rappers.
Choice: 8
Reason: The looks of the album covers often dictate what the vibe the album is going to be
Choice: 9
Reason: If an album or song has a bland or boring or unoriginal cover, it’s unlikely to jump out at me and make me want to listen and can some make me judge the album before I hear it
Choice: 9
Reason: The attraction of appearance
Choice: 9
Reason: The album cover is the first thing that you see so it subconsciously has an effect on how you perceive the music on the album. If it is a good album cover with good artwork, then you will have a positive impression of the before listening to it. A lot of rap albums usually have the best artwork as people who listen to them often care about the cover art more.
Choice: 7
Reason: If I didn’t know an artist or their music but they had a good album name and cover art, I would be more inclined to listen to new music. But with artists I know I like the album cover doesn’t make a difference i would listen to it regardless.
Choice: 5
Reason: Normally hear it from advertising
Choice: 7
Reason: Sometimes the aesthetic of an album cover makes you more intrigued into the message of the artist through his lyrics
Choice: 8
Reason: If it is engaging and aesthetically appeasing it will intrigue me to buy.
Choice: 8
Reason: If the album cover looks interesting, it is more likely to grab my attention and encourage me to actively listen to the music.
Choice: 5
Reason: For me I would buy the album because of the artist. However, the album cover may be representing the artist or the music.
Choice: 7
Reason: For me I am into aesthetics, and so when I listen to music, I pay attention to two things, how the song sounds musically and visually. I think the use of graphic design to music as it can be used to add an additional layer of art to the song and the artist, especially when they portray their music
Asking if the message of a cover is something the consumers pay attention to is very important when finding out how impactful cover art is because from the secondary research conducted, I found designers try to provide the cover with same vibe the music gives so finding out how consumers perceive this was very impactful. 75% of participants stated that they do pay attention which is interesting to know that cover designs play a role in their consumerism.
This question helped me to understand that if an album was aesthetically pleasing would it draw the participants into listening. Even if it didn’t relate to the music content if the cover was eye catching would it play a role in being a reason they decide to listen. Most people said that covers to play a role in making them want to tune in which was interesting to learn
This question gave me a better insight to see the different factors which goes into the participants listening to an artist they haven’t heard before. Following the last question, I wanted to see if it wasn’t an album cover what else would influence a consumer to listen to music they haven’t heard before and from the results it is made evident that most the participants would be influenced by friends, 25% influenced by social media and only 12.5% of people said album covers influenced their decision. this allowed me to see the mindset of a consumer as even though covers design may matter top them it may not be number one on the list to influence them.
From this I can learn that most of the participants consume music through streaming platforms which is common today. I asked this because it may have a effect on covers influence because actually holding the album and looking at it allows you to examine it and become attached more compared to jus seeing an image of it.
Going onto the fashion questions I started it off with asking if the participants feel hip hop has impacted their fashion. This is important as it allows me to understand what percentage of people have adopted a type of style due to the culture of hip hop. This influence is important as it could be a range of factors within hip hop which impact their fashion.
I wanted to see how campaigns influence my participants, I asked if campaigns or the music influence their fashion. Most people agreed fashion was the main driving force to why they are into a specific type of fashion. No participants stated that campaigns influenced their consumerism which is and interesting take as it proves that influence is created organically through the artist music and appearance. Some people did say both impact them and some have said neither which may mean other factors influence their fashion.
With this question I wanted to explore what specific factors influence consumers to adopt a hip hop sense of style. Most people agreed rappers, which is understandable as they are at the forefront in hip hop. Social media was second which is interesting as it may be advertising or seeing artist on social media which influences them. Athletes was 18.8%, this was interesting because it shows that athletes have an impact within hip hop culture too.
Friends was the least picked option which isn’t a direct factor in hip hop which proves that hip hop culture in terms of rappers has a major influence on consumers decisions.
For the last question I asked participants favourite brands and why. I did this to understand what a brand has done to capture someone’s brand loyalty. The answers are below:
I would say Nike/Jordan due to their styles and popularity and probably the comfort of their products so as a fan of Jordan’s the shoe Nike goes along with it. Also Benjart a British fashion brand I love the products they have and the comfort of their clothes and the different styles they bring out.
Jordan brand because I am a fan of Jordan as a player and feel the Jordan’s that are the most popular are because you can wear them with anything for the most part. You can dress them up and you can dress them down
Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger as I am a big fan of east coast music and rappers like Raekwon and Ghostface heavily influenced my love for the brand. Nike/Jordan too due to the comfortability and they were always hard to get which made it rare outside.
Nike. When you buy a Nike trainer you know what you’re getting and it’s usually good and high quality. Nike also has one of the widest ranges of trainers which are suitable for everyone from hipsters to athletes.
Nike because they do so many different styles and collaborations with different people such as air Jordan.
Nike, because it’s stylish and comfortable, I also wear both clothing and trainers.
Outkast because they are cool
Jordan brand as their trainers are very famous and they have a lot of iconic adverts. They are endorsed by very successful athletes. The trainers are timeless and never go out of fashion. It is a brand known worldwide due to the success of the athletes and being mentioned by a lot of famous rappers and music stars in their songs which can reach a large audience. A lot of rappers and hip hop artists often show of their Jordan collections which has a lot of influence on what shoes I buy.
Nike Nike. Good logo, trainers, and clothes.
Nike. All time classic brand worn by my favourite artists and athletes. Such a great brand for high end clothing or sports chilled clothing. The collection of sneakers is one of the best too!
Hilfiger, affordable premium brand with good quality
Jordan because I like the style of the trainers and it’s a widely known brand that has a reputation of having good quality items that have a high value.
Jordan’s, as they are iconic, and I first noticed Will Smith wearing them in the fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Nike because I like the way they constantly innovate their products and work with a lot of influential figures such as drake Skepta Odell Beckham Jr and Cristiano Ronaldo
These answers mainly consist on people stating Nike and Jordan due to comfortability and some have said because of the influence from rappers and hip hop culture which proves Nike and Jordan are synonymous with hip hop culture.
Appendix 5 - Sway Interview with Cey Adams
This interview allowed me to gain a better understanding of Cey as a probationer and his story which is very important as he goes through each chapter gives his take on specific subjects. The notes from this interview are below:
Cey produces the kind of work to be talked about as an icon of hip hop.
Needed visuals to bring the lyrics to life
Cannot have any musical creative direction if you didn’t have a creative like Cey Adams
‘The work we do as a creative is behind a curtain so performers can shine but it’s time for us to take a bow’
Wrote Book Definition
When given an opportunity he wanted to take graffiti to the next level to be positive as he was trying to escape the bad stigma attached’.
‘I was always an artist I didn’t care about the labels I just wanted to work’
‘Russel had just signed Jay Z and I designed a logo for him which he still uses to this day’.
‘Visually Kanye took his creativity higher, the final frontier to me as a creative was getting rappers to understand the power of visuals before it was fashionable because before conceptional album covers were not a thing until Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy’.
‘I worked on Fear of a Black planet but a lot the credit goes to Chuck D in the group as he is a visionary too’.
‘Since the 80s I’ve bult a clientele, pricing depends on time, 59% cut, everything I’ve done to get to that point can’t go too high as you must go up, paintings grow in value’.
‘The work we do as visual artist is just as important as the work musicians and dancers are doing, we should share the successes.
Appendix 6 - Style Wars Documentary
I decided to watch this documentary to give myself a better insight to how graffiti had impacted design. This documentary was made in the 1980s which was still the early years of hip, so it didn’t really give me a sense of how graffiti has impacted design. it just gave me a better understand of what graffiti is and why it was started. The note I had taken are below which are key quotes:
‘They write their names, names they been given on subway trains from one part of the city to another which is called bombing’.
‘Graffiti writing in NY is a vocation, to some it is an art to some it is a play that never ends, a symbol we’ve lost control’.
‘Is that an art form, I don’t know I’m not an art critic, but I can sure as hell tell u that that’s a crime.
‘Everyone thinks a graffiti writer is black and Puerto Rican which is wrong as a lot of white people are writing.’
‘What you’ve got is a whole miserable subculture’.
‘We’ve drenched the city with our names’.