Abstract
Hip-hop culture defines itself through four central pillars: DJing, MCing, breakdancing and graffiti, but a fifth one, fashion, may be in the coming. Hip-hop has become the most popular music genre, and the influence it has on society is undebatable. But as hip-hop artists increasingly underpin their music with visual components, like music videos, the question arises if that has an influence on the fashion industry. This chapter clarifies which factors may determine a fashion business impact and discusses differences between mainstream hip-hop artists and the ones that are active in the fashion industry as well. The focus lays on the way and amount fashion is presented in the music videos. 24 music videos were analyzed, thereof 15 popular records from the past three years and nine of artists that are already considered as fashion-influential. Additionally, a fashion influence index was created to compare the degree of fashion between the music videos. Numbers of styles, recognized brands, fashion-related song verses, fashion-related description box mentions and articles about the fashion in the music video were noted. Findings reveal that the number of outfits shown in the video did not have a direct link to the amount of traffic it produces in fashion media. The artists that are considered influential in the fashion industry, name brands in their song lyrics more often and show brand logos more frequent in their music videos than others. Though the observed years, for the mainstream hip-hop artists, a rise in fashion awareness can be seen through a higher number of styles, recognizable brands and fashion-related verses in the lyrics.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
A$AP Rocky. (2012). A$AP ROCKY-F**kin’ Problems ft. Drake, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liZm1im2erU.
A$AP Rocky. (2015). A$AP Rocky-L$D (LOVE x $EX x DREAMS). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEG2VTHS9yg.
A$AP Rocky. (2018). A$AP Rocky-Praise The Lord (Da Shine) (Official Video) ft. Skepta. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbj2Zss-5GY.
Adaso, H. (2018, July 19). The History of Hip-Hop: 1925 to Now. Retrieved December 14, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-hip-hop-1925-to-now-2857353.
Atkinson, S. (2016, September 21). Music video history: A complete breakdown. Retrieved November 25, 2018, from https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/09/21/history-music-videos/.
Bakula, D. (2014, April 22). Behind the music (video): How important are videos to both artists and brands? Retrieved January 3, 2019, from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/behind-the-music-video-how-important-are-videos-to-both-artists-and-brands.
Bruner, R. (2018, January 25). How rap became the sound of the mainstream. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/5118041/rap-music-mainstream/.
Desiigner. (2016). Desiigner-Panda (official music video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ONTXHS2mM.
DJ Khaled. (2017). DJ Khaled-I’m The One ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weeI1G46q0o.
Drake. (2015). Drake-Hotline Bling. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxpDa-c-4Mc.
DRAM. (2016). DRAM-Broccoli feat. Lil Yachty (official music video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44j-sb1SRY.
Englis, B. G. (1991). Music television and its influences on consumers, consumer culture, and the transmission of consumption messages. Advances in Consumer Research, 18(1), 111–114. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=6522173&lang=de&site=eds-live&authtype=shib.
Eshun, E. (2015, July 28). How hip-hop style critiques society. Retrieved December 24, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150728-how-hip-hop-style-critiques-society.
Ferguson, N. S., & Burkhalter, J. N. (2015). Yo, DJ, That’s My Brand: An examination of consumer response to brand placements in hip-hop music. Journal of Advertising, 44(1), 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2014.935897.
Ferrier, M. (2018, March 31). The rise and rise of Kanye West’s influence on fashion. The Observer. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/31/kanye-west-rise-fashion-virgil-abloh-louis-vuitton.
Fetty Wap. (2014). Fetty Wap-Trap Queen (official video) Prod. By Tony Fadd. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_kF4zLNKio.
French Montana. (2017). French Montana-Unforgettable ft. Swae Lee. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTFtOOh47oo.
G-Eazy. (2015). G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha-Me, Myself & I (official music video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSfpSOBD30U.
Business of Fashion. (n.d.). Kanye West is one of the 500 People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry in 2018. (n.d.). Retrieved January 3, 2019, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/kanye-west.
Lamar, K. (2017). Kendrick Lamar-HUMBLE. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTRZJ-4EyI.
Laurence, R. (2014, October 21). 40 years on from the party where hip hop was born. Retrieved December 14, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130809-the-party-where-hip-hop-was-born.
Lil Pump. (2018). Kanye West & Lil Pump ft. Adele Givens-“I Love It” (official music video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwQgjq0mCdE.
Maoui, Z. (2018, February 22). How music influences fashion. Retrieved December 16, 2018, from https://theidleman.com/manual/life/music/how-music-influences-fashion/.
Mars, B. (2017). Bruno Mars-That’s What I Like (official video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMivT7MJ41M.
McIntyre, H. (2017, September 27). Report: YouTube is the most popular site for on-demand music streaming. Retrieved January 3, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2017/09/27/the-numbers-prove-it-the-world-is-listening-to-the-music-it-loves-on-youtube/.
Migos, A. T. L. (2016). Migos-Bad and Boujee ft Lil Uzi Vert (official video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-sJp1FfG7Q.
Morency, C. (2018, May 21). Why rappers are fashion’s new royalty. Retrieved December 28, 2018, from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/the-new-kings-and-queens-of-fashion-kanye-west-asap-rocky-cardi-b.
Rihanna. (2016). Rihanna-Work (Explicit) ft. Drake. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1UzIK-flA.
Silentó. (2015). Silentó-Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae) (official music video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjW8wmF5VWc.
Stolworthy, J. (2017, August 11). History of Hip Hop: How did this underground movement begin and when did it hit the mainstream? The Independent. Retrieved December 14, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/history-of-hip-hop-music-new-york-dj-kool-herc-google-doodle-clive-cindy-campbell-a7887501.html.
Strähle, J. (2018). Fashion and music. Singapore: Springer Nature.
Street, M. (2016, June 15). How A$AP Rocky Became The Face of Luxury Fashion. Retrieved January 3, 2019, from https://www.complex.com/style/2016/06/how-asap-rocky-became-the-face-of-luxury-fashion.
TheWeekndVEVO. (2015). The Weeknd-The Hills. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzTuBuRdAyA.
Tiller, B. (2015). Bryson Tiller-Don’t (explicit version). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7cVLE4SaN0.
West, K. (2009). Kanye West-Stronger. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsO6ZnUZI0g.
West, K. (2012). Jay-Z & Kanye West-Ni**as In Paris (Explicit). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG_dA32oH44.
Woolf, J. (2016, February 11). The Unabridged History of Kanye West as Fashion Designer. Retrieved January 4, 2019, from https://www.gq.com/gallery/the-unabridged-history-of-kanye-west-as-fashion-designerand-the-11-year-road-to-todays-adidas-show.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bug, P., Dao, T.Q.A. (2020). Music Videos and Fashion Business—Hip-Hop Study. In: Bug, P. (eds) Fashion and Film. Springer Series in Fashion Business. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9542-0_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9542-0_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9541-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9542-0
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)