Rapper clothing lines were a rarity once upon a time. These days it seems like rappers get a clothing line as soon as they get a deal, which is unfortunate. Rappers are busy people and it's hard being a great artist in two demanding industries. Only a few have been able to pull it off. Some just put their name behind a line to make a quick buck which in turn diminishes their personal brand because the clothes are so trash. Faithful stans will rock their garbage even though kids make fun of them in school. It's fucked up when your heroes don't care about your feelings.
It all started with Naughty By Nature. They had a shop in New Jersey where they sold clothing with their signature logo on them. The Wu-Tang Clan, under Oli "POWER" Grant, took that idea and expanded on it, making Wu-Wear the first nationally distributed rapper clothing line. Other soon followed suit to much success. Jay Z and Puffy are still eating off Rocawear and Sean John, respectively. But for every fondly remembered line or thriving brand, there are even more that fell by the wayside. Sometimes due to bad business decisions, and plenty of times because they were hot garbage. Here are 25 rapper-owned clothing lines we can remember, ranked from worst to best.
Angel Diaz is a staff writer for Complex Media. Follow him @ADiaz456.
26. Todd Smith
25. Shago
24. P. Miller
23. TWIsM
22. Rich & Famous
21. Last Kings
20. Vokal
19. Bushi Sport
18. Nostic
17. Outkast Clothing Co.
16. Shady LTD
15. G-Unit
14. FJ560
13. Akoo
12. TrukFit
11. State Property Clothing
10. Sean John
9. Rocawear
Rapper: Jay Z
It's the Roc! Jigga and them cashed out and ran the the early 2000s in every facet of the game. Clothes, movies, rap, they came to conquer it all, and they did just that. I still rock my 'Money Ain't A Thing' shirt from high school around the house:
8.
7. Play Cloths
6. Benjamin Bixby
5. Naughty Gear
4. Dipset USA
3. Yeezy Season 1
2. Wu-Wear
Rapper: Wu-Tang Clan
The OGs of this rapper clothing line shit. My uncle had a Wu-Wear leather jacket that I used to sneak out the house and wear to school. The Wu set it off with some real gritty streetwear before the term was an Internet buzzword. DJ Greg Street recently had Raekwon as a guest and showed off his ill vintage Wu-Wear collection. In return, The Chef exhibited A-1 folding skills: