By Oba Awolowo
Hip hop and fashion have always intersected. Almost half a decade off from the days of Run-DMC’s “My Adidas” and several digital generations away from A$AP Rocky casually name-dropping Raf Simons and Rick Owens, the two worlds converge further and further every day. In modern rap climate, it seems that more rappers are looking to put on their best when they step foot in the public eye. However, it’s quite interesting to see the amount of rappers who have taken on a more fashion-forward approach in their creative endeavors rather than focusing on releasing music. It seems like rappers – specifically within the “mainstream” underground – are looking to be in-charge of the next line of fashion trends and styles that come up.
Before we can understand the underground, we must examine the mainstream. The aforementioned Harlem rapper A$AP Rocky is notorious for his collaborations with designer fashion brands. The rapper has modeled for Calvin Klein, became the first black person to be the face of Dior Homme and, just last year, ascended as the first creative director at Ray-Ban. Rocky also built his own style collection American Sabotage in 2024 for Paris Fashion Week. Even the rapper’s relationship with Rihanna can be seen as a fashion highlight, as not only she appeared in his “Fashion Killa” music video (incredible manifestation), but they’ve collaborated for Fenty Beauty, with Rocky appearing in a campaign for Fenty Skin’s Skin Balm. In the midst of this, the rapper’s long-awaited album DON’T BE DUMB, which released this past January, was left on the back-burner in favor of his alternate collaborative creative pursuits. Rocky set the precedent as essentially the first contemporary rapper to turn into a creative-director-style mogul—something many rappers seem to dream of today.
Now that the new underground scene has settled into its own canon, it’s interesting to see how many rappers tend to lean toward being focused on their fashion habits rather than their musical efforts.
Take Nettspend for example, who released his debut studio album early life crisis this past spring. Just a week prior, he stepped onto the Gucci runway in Milan delaying his album in the process. The year before that, he made his runway debut with Miu Miu and campaigned for Vans in November of 2025. Listening to early life crisis, the album is less concerned with making an artistic statement, which is quite disappointing considering the wait he put fans through. Perhaps Nettspend’s real aspirations are similar to Rocky, where fashion comes first. The difference between the two however, lies within how they approach rap. Though the VA delinquent rose to fame not long ago through his viral snippet “drankdrankdrank,” the rapper’s limited discography hasn’t matured to where you would expect for a mid-career starling. Nettspend’s momentum seems catalyzed more by fit pics than inspired sonic direction. Regardless, the future remains exciting for those who keep up with him, seeing that he concluded NYFW with a sold out all-ages show.
In the case of the surging Pz’, however, the tables have turned. The Gambian-Senegalese model-turned-rapper has found himself on a hot-streak of singles, from “HEDIS BUSSIN’” to “DURANGO”. Hailing from Atlanta, his affiliations with Playboi Carti’s Young Vamp Life and the ØWay collective have bore a force to be reckoned with. A signed model first and foremost, the African-ATLien built upon the success of his modeling career to intertwine with his music. Making appearances for Hedi Slimane, Mowalola, and Purple. He’s walked and posed for most major brands you can think of. Even his single covers are just Pinterest moodboards, an interesting way to present yourself within the music scene.
In the digital age, it’s important for rappers to have an image as much as a sound. But what happens when a rapper doesn’t “look” the part? In the context of slayr, the Philadelphia native who’s having his moment, it’s been difficult for him to establish respect from those who claim to be “fans”. The self-proclaimed “swag rock” rapper has been making waves since 2022, but is just now getting his claim to fame with his album Half Blood and its deluxe, Blood Luxe. For slayr, his blend of EDM, trap and metal have made him the butt of internet jokes online. Because his music doesn’t lean on darker aesthetics, and he’s of a heavier set compared to his peers Pz’ and Nettspend, he’s been treated to less than kind remarks online. However, the rapper’s fashion style offers just a unique variety like the aforementioned, as his streetwear pieces range from Ed Hardy to retro video game t-shirts, which happen to be congruent with his musical style.
While rappers now have agency to create and market themselves freely, the market may be more concerned with a rapper’s image rather than their music. Fastforwarding past Pz’ and Nettspend’s parallel rises, we may just see further consolidation of these rapper-to-model or model-to-rapper pipelines in the future. And just as the audiovisual affordances of the internet have pushed rapstars further into fashion circles, likewise, we see streamers, hip hop media heads, and even former CIA agents tap in. Nobody wants to miss their chance to snatch a slice of the fashion industry pie.
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