Shawn Corey Carter, known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Born and raised in New York City, he was named the greatest rapper of all time by Billboard and Vibe in 2023. He served as the president and chief executive officer of Def Jam Recordings from 2004 to 2007 before founding the entertainment company, Roc Nation the following year.
Leslie Edward Pridgen, better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he first gained recognition after appearing on Jay-Z's fifth album, The Dynasty: Roc La Familia in 2000. The following year, he became a member of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. After releasing their debut album, Pridgen signed to Roc-A-Fella as a solo artist and began work on his debut album, Philadelphia Freeway (2003). Upon release, the album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical response. He released a follow-up, Free at Last (2007) to moderate reception before him and fellow State Property cohorts were dropped from the label.
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, often known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes, which he formed in 1992 with Chad Hugo. They produced 15 singles which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100, including four songs that peaked atop the chart. He also formed the alternative band N.E.R.D. with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams serves as lead vocalist. He has been considered one of the most influential music producers of the 21st century for his impact on popular music.
Cash Money Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by brothers Ronald "Slim" Williams and Bryan "Baby" Williams. The label gained prominence in the late 1990s for having signed and released albums for New Orleans-based musical acts including Juvenile, B.G., and Hot Boys. It became an imprint of Universal Records, a division of Universal Music Group in March 1998, and remained so during its following iterations as Universal Republic, Universal Motown and ultimately Republic Records.
Damon Anthony Dash is an American entrepreneur and record executive. He co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke in 1994, and co-founded the fashion retailer Rocawear with the former in 1999.
Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their Double Diamond logo. Umbro products are marketed in over 100 countries.
Yakira, L.L.C. is an American urban fashion company founded by Marc Ecko in 1993. The company makes apparel and accessories under the brands Ecko Unltd. line for men and the Ecko Red line for girls and women. It is headquartered in New York City. The company's products gained public attention in the late 1990s; they were originally associated with hip-hop and skate culture and moved into mainstream urban culture in the early 2000s. It is most often associated with hip-hop. The style is based on graffiti art. Its brand features a rhino as its logo. Rap artist MC Serch of 3rd Bass assisted with marketing in the early years of the company.
Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding, 1980s nostalgia, and Japanese street fashion. Later, haute couture became an influence, and was in turn influenced by streetwear. Streetwear centers on comfortable clothing and accessories such as jeans, T-shirts, baseball caps, and sneakers. Brands may create exclusivity through artificial scarcity; enthusiasts follow particular brands and try to obtain limited edition releases, including via proxy purchases.
Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. is a clothing company based in Irvine, California, United States. It produces T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, shoes and beverage mugs.
Escada SE is a luxury women's designer clothing company headquartered in Aschheim, Germany. The company is owned by Regent, L.P., an international private equity firm led by investor Michael Reinstein.
Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) is an American fashion label based in New York City founded by Pharrell Williams and Nigo in 2003. Its sublabels include Ice Cream, Bee Line and Billionaire Girls Club.
Iconix Brand Group is an American brand management company that licenses brands to retailers and manufacturers, primarily in the apparel, footwear and apparel accessory industries.
Stuff by Hilary Duff was a lifestyle brand that was launched by American singer and actress Hilary Duff in February 2004.
Héctor Luis Delgado Román is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and record producer, formerly known by his stage names Héctor el Father and Héctor el Bambino. He rose to fame as a member of the duo Héctor & Tito. As a producer, Delgado has worked with several reggaeton producers, as well as Emilio Estefan.
A Bathing Ape 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. There are also stores located in Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Shenyang, Seoul, Jakarta, Dubai, New York City, Kuala Lumpur, London, Paris, Miami and Los Angeles.
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.
American entertainer Madonna has produced five fashion brands, beginning with a clothing range for fashion store H&M in March 2007. She later created an enterprise, MG Icon LLC, a joint venture with her manager Guy Oseary and Iconix Brand Group which produces her lifestyle brands Material Girl and Truth or Dare by Madonna. She also collaborated with Dolce & Gabbana on a range of sunglasses which marked the first co-branded collaboration that the design duo has ever undertaken.
I Am Other is a multimedia creative collective and record label created by Pharrell Williams, that serves as an umbrella for all of his endeavors, including Billionaire Boys Club, ICECREAM apparel and textile company Bionic Yarn. There is also a dedicated YouTube channel launched by the artist, record producer and fashion designer in 2012. The channel was launched as part of YouTube's $100 million original channel initiative. The programming on the I Am Other channel focuses on music, culture, fashion and the arts. Williams describes the channel as a "cultural movement dedicated to Thinkers, Innovators and Outcasts." The channel launched with original series such as Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae, StereoTypes.
Jonathan Koon is a Chinese American entrepreneur, artist, and fashion designer who became a self-made millionaire at the age of 16.
Christopher Bevans is an American fashion designer and creative director. He was born in Brooklyn, New York City and went on to work in the fashion industry like his grandmother. Bevans has won awards from organizations such as Woolmark.
