Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. Known for his complex lyrical ability—which often uses double entendres and word play—and braggadocio, his music is built upon a rags to riches narrative. He served as president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007, and founded the entertainment company Roc Nation the following year.
Percy Robert Miller, better known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, dancer, actor and entrepreneur. He founded the record label No Limit Records in 1991, which was relaunched into the spin-off labels New No Limit Records and No Limit Forever Records. Miller gained fame in the mid-1990s as the lead and founding of the label's hip hop group TRU, as well as his fifth solo album, Ice Cream Man (1996), and its namesake lead single. His 1997 single, "Make 'Em Say Uhh!" received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Adidas AG is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which also owns an 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern Munich, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.
Hip-hop fashion refers to the various styles of dress that originated from Urban Black America and inner city youth in cities like New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Being a major part of hip hop culture, it further developed in other cities across the United States, with each contributing different elements to the overall style that is now recognized worldwide.
Russell Wendell Simmons is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has promoted veganism and a yoga lifestyle, and published books on lifestyle, health, and entrepreneurship. Simmons' net worth was estimated at $340 million in 2011.
Sean John is a privately held fashion lifestyle company created by music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. The line made its fashion debut with a men's sportswear collection for the spring 1998 season.
Air Jordan is a line of basketball shoes produced by Nike, Inc. Related apparel and accessories are marketed under Jordan Brand.
Mark Machado, better known as Mister Cartoon or more commonly just Cartoon or Toon, is an American tattoo artist and graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, California. He has been described by the New York Times as an "instrumental figure in the Los Angeles hip-hop scene" and by the BBC as "one of the greatest living tattoo artists in the US". Growing up in the Harbor area of Los Angeles County, young Cartoon began doing illustrations and graffiti then going on to airbrushing clothing and lowrider custom cars. Machado then moved on to working in the music industry doing album covers, tour merchandise and later tattooing recording artists and other celebrities.
Mitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co. is an American sports-related clothing company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company was established in 1904 as a sports equipment manufacturer, remaining as the oldest sporting company in Philadelphia. After several years of making baseball and American football uniforms, the company switched direction in 1983, when it decided to recreate vintage jerseys.
The National Basketball Association's (NBA) dress code was introduced on October 17, 2005, under NBA commissioner David Stern. The dress code was mandatory for all NBA and NBA Development League players, making the NBA only the second major professional sports league to have a dress code, after the National Hockey League. The dress code went into effect at the start of the 2005–06 NBA season. It was significantly relaxed shortly before the 2020 NBA Bubble.
Adidas Superstar is a style of low-top athletic shoe which has been manufactured by the German multinational company Adidas since 1969. The design is nicknamed the "shell toe", "shell shoe", and "shell top" due to its rubber shell toe cap.
A Bathing Ape, also known as BAPE, is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo in Ura-Harajuku in 1993. The brand specializes in men's, women's and children's lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto. The Kyoto store also includes Bape Gallery, a space used for various events and art shows sponsored by Bape. The brand also has stores in Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, and elsewhere.
George Carroll, better known as Slaine, is an American rapper and actor. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent his childhood and teenage years, Carroll moved to New York City in the mid-1990s, where he adopted the moniker of Slaine and started to rap and record hip-hop. In the early 2000s, Carroll became a growing figure in the Boston hip-hop scene, releasing several mixtapes, and the LP Stereotypez (2007) with his group Special Teamz. Later, A Brand You Can Trust (2009) was released, by the rap supergroup La Coka Nostra, where Carroll is joined by Ill Bill, and House of Pain. Carroll’s first solo album A World With No Skies 2.0. (2011) peaked at 33 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums it, 22 on the Top Rap Albums, 29 on US Independent Albums, and 4 on Top Heatseekers.
Starter, Inc. is an American clothing manufacturer, focusing on major league sports teams. Starter's current licenses include MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL teams. Non-sports agreements include a partnership with Coca-Cola.
Aubrey Drake Graham is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. An influential figure in popular music, he has been credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip-hop artists. Gaining recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008), Drake began his recording career in 2006 with the release of his debut mixtape, Room for Improvement (2006). He followed up with the mixtapes Comeback Season (2007) and So Far Gone (2009) before signing with Young Money Entertainment.
Stüssy is an American privately held fashion house founded in the early 1980s by fashion designer Shawn Stussy. It benefited from the surfwear trend originating in Orange County, California, but was later adopted by the skateboard and hip hop scenes.
Oliver "Power" Grant is an American entrepreneur, producer, streetwear clothing mogul and actor. As a close associate of the hip-hop group, Wu-Tang Clan, Grant executive produced all of the Wu-Tang Clan albums. He is the original founder and CEO of the Wu Wear clothing line and stores.
OVO Sound is a Canadian independent record label, founded in 2012 by rapper Drake, producer 40, and manager Oliver El-Khatib. The label operated as an imprint of Warner Records from its formation until 2022.
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From 2015 to 2017, he released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional following for his work. He signed with Atlantic Records and Artist Partner Group in the latter year to release the singles "Untouchable" and "No Smoke", both of which marked his first entries on the Billboard Hot 100. Released in January of the following year, his single "Outside Today" became his first to peak within the top 40 of the chart, and received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It served as both his mainstream breakthrough and the lead single for his debut studio album, Until Death Call My Name (2018), which peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 despite mixed critical reception.
Jeff Hamilton is a Moroccan celebrity fashion designer known for his graphic embroidered leather jackets and their contribution to the iconography of sports and popular culture.
