Hip-hop has a had a long, often challenging relationship with fashion.
At the genre’s inception, lyrical and stylistic trends focused on other topics. It was not until the emergence of a distinct, largely homogenous, hip-hop culture that clothing became a fixture of the scene. Like any subculture, the external markers identified those who were in the know and those who weren't. At the same time, record companies and clothing companies saw a booming scene to attach themselves to. Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste: with upward economic mobility came an interest in more expensive brands.
Later, as these celebrities transformed into CEOs and executives themselves, so too did their role in fashion and design. The 2000s saw an explosion of rapper-designed clothing brands like Rocawear, though many failed to gain wider traction. These failings exposed the barrier that people of color face when entering the clothing industry. And, perhaps learning from these failures, later generations of rappers like Pharrell and A$AP Rocky opted to pair with bigger corporations rather than compete with them.
With corporate partnerships the norm, it is refreshing to turn back to artists maintaining autonomy with their own merchandise lines. It's the norm these days for any slightly-popping artist to have a merch line, although the size of said merch line may vary according to the size of the artist. No matter, the merch is place for the artist to showcase his talents in terms of style and aesthetic, to really bring his or her own vibe to life, for the fan's sake. Some artists do this better than others. And, some artists sell out faster than others -- is it a coincidence that some of the dopest merch is also sold out? Nonetheless, if you're looking for merch that is CURRENTLY AVAILABLE we got you. Here's the dopest hip-hop artist merch you can currently cop-- note that if the shop isn't open, or the items therein are entirely sold out, we did not include it in this list.
Before we start, here's a few shout outs for these dope merch lines that are all but sold out-- bookmark these pages if you're a fan. We'll be checking for their re-stocks.
Pro Era
Three years back, Pro Era’s clothing line created a minor controversy with a major endorsement. A private photo leaked of Malia Obama wearing one of their T-shirts, and everyone from hip-hop fans to the Secret Service wanted to know what was up. Their line hasn’t changed much since then, still offering that classic T-shirt, hoodies, and jackets.
TDE, SZA
In a year dominated by hip-hop and R&B, special praise is reserved for Top Dog Entertainment. Kendrick Lamar and SZA delivered two of the year’s most widely acclaimed albums. And some pretty amazing clothing designs were rolled out alongside their music projects. While all their artists’ merchandise is worth browsing, their “Ctrl”- themed hoodies and crewnecks bring an understated and functional edge that you don’t often see in musician merchandise. However, their TDE-designed merch is also supremely dope and offers a vintage logo feel.
Playboi Carti
Under A$AP Rocky’s tutelage, and in Rocky’s extended absence from music, Playboi Carti has revitalized lifestyle rap with his own brand of pretty-boy swag. His music exudes coolness and style, and he’s not quiet about it. And neither is the merchandise from his latest concert tour. Insane, colorful graphic tees are the standard for this collection.
Drake, OVO
Drake’s OVO apparel transcends most musician merchandise. His clothing line doesn’t make room for concert tees that will end up in you attic in ten years. Instead, he’s armed himself with brick and mortar shops in major cities like Los Angeles and New York, and placed a bet on his brand’s longevity. If he keeps his collections as he has been doing, then that shouldn't be an issue. The OVO line of apparel offers more timeless items and wardrobe staples that are both functional and trendy-- although be warned, it's on the pricier end of "merch."
Metro Boomin
Young Metro’s production reigned supreme in 2017. He should have used the moment to push some of his merchandise, which ranges from colorful crewnecks to simple T-shirts. If you trust in Metro, you should trust these designs-- the hoodies offer a more simple feel while the t-shirts are straight from the Pen & Pixel era. Either way you can't go wrong.
Desiigner, Life of Desiigner
No rapper has had as uneven of an album rollout as Desiigner. We’ve been delivered cover art, tentative singles, collaborations. And even a clothing site. But still no album. Diverse, Ed Hardy-esque jean jackets and T-shirts are here to remind that, yes, it is still coming. Despite a lack of music, his shop has some fire options to stock up your wardrobe for a new year.
Kanye West, Saint Pablo Tour
Remember the Pablo pop-up shop craze? Kanye induced a cultural hysteria over insanely priced clothing and by extension, resulted in a ton of copy-cat merch and designs. If you belong to the circle of society that doesn’t care how exclusive you Pablo merch is, his website is still selling plenty of concert tour apparel inspired from his most recent run "Saint Pablo." It's Kanye, so you know these designs are fresh even if you never saw the concert.
Cousin Stizz, One Night Only Tour
Cousin Stizz’s merchandise line is a blatant appeal to concert addicts. Aside from a couple graphic tees, his clothing becomes a billboard, like wearing a ticket on your shirt. But the aesthetic isn't gaudy; instead, by foregoing illustration for plain text and negative space, he is mimicking that simple plainspoken style that makes his music so appealing.
A$AP Ferg, Trap Lord
You can pick up a few pieces from A$AP Ferg’s official website. But most of his merchandise is scattered across collaborations with various other brands, such as Adidas. Still, his website’s shorts and sport tees are exciting forays into the sports apparel world. And while some of the dopest among those sports-inspired merch are currently sold out (see: baseball jersey), there's still some great pieces available.
Cop: https://traplord.com
Migos, Culture
Migos bring us even more Culture with their collection of hoodies and shirts. Although the hoodiewhich takes their album title and design at face value is currently sold out, it's their “Bad & Boujee” line that is particularly sleek and stand-out. Peep the future-looking designs. However if it is Culture that you want to promote, there are some items available, like this rose-embroided dat hat.
21 Savage & Offset, Without Warning
Milking their collab as much as they can, 21 Savage, Offset, and Metro Boomin have released a clothing line alongside their surprise mixtape. It's also verging entirely on sold out, but there's still a "Ghostface Killers" hoodie up for sale which is 1) the dopest song on the album (or, at least second to "Ric Flair Drip" depending who you ask and 2) a very dope design.
The Weeknd, XO
Even after becoming pop music’s Starboy, The Weeknd’s persona has remained tied to darkness and intrigue. That mood is especially reflected in his clothing designs, where long-sleeve shirts and hoodies are decorated in smears of “XO” and in angsty graphics. Similar to Drake's OVO line, these are pieces that feel more like an streetwear brand than artist merch. The Weeknd probably aims to keep it that way too, as he pulls out all the usual streetwear stops with lookbook reveals and collections for each season.
G-Eazy
Although his music may appeal to teenage white girls worldwide, his clothing and merch line should appeal to your average male. G-Eazy has a surprisingly large and diverse shop, which includes classic graphic tees as well as more inventive designs such as baseball jerseys, that are clean even if you don't fuck with Eazy. Dude even sells the black skinny jeans, a style he's often seen wearing.
Denzel Curry
Denzel Curry's merch is extremely limited, at least when it comes to clothing, he's got one t-shirt and it's available in both black and white. Even so, the design is dope, as to be expected from cartoon and comic booking-loving lyrical MC who also draws himself.