How 2000s Hip-Hop Influenced Today's Style Trends

Style may be cyclical, but nostalgia is powerful too. Certain '90s trends come back not just because of what's on the runways, but also because kids always look towards the past for fashionable inspiration. It takes a good 10 to 15 years for something to come in and out of style, and the early 2000s are rife with wild looks for today's stylish folks to tap into.

Back then, rappers wore pink, bucket hats, and had diamonds in their grill. Although some of the songs and artists are gladly forgotten, their gear lives on. Today's rappers, streetwear brands, and even menswear designers have adopted the swagger that 2000s hip-hop presented through a unique lens.

Guys like Cam'ron, Eminem, and MF Doom have left a legacy of not just music, but style, too. Today's trendsetters aren't just reaching into their closets and pulling out their clothes from middle school, they're reinterpreting style from 10 years ago while giving a respectful tip of their hat to the pioneers. We've compiled the looks we feel are best represented in today's style world. Here's How 2000s Hip-Hop Influenced Today's Style Trends.

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Cam'ron is solely responsible for men wearing pink in hip-hop. The shade has long been accepted in the prep world, but hip-hop, a culture that prides itself on "tough" behavior, often viewed wearing pink as being soft. Until Cam made it awesome, that is.

The Harlem rapper had everything pink in 2003, but in the "Dipset Anthem" video, he broke out a paisley-patterned flight jacket, something that we wouldn't mind seeing today.

While no one wore it like Cam, A$AP Rocky put his own spin on it. Known for wearing street goth looks, the Harlem rapper also loves A Bathing Ape. Rocky was seen earlier this year in a similiar flight jacket with a Laffy Taffy-colored Ape-head print. It's fitting that two Harlem rappers are both brave enough to wear pink, but perhaps it's best if the game isn't saturated with the popping color.

NASCAR and hip-hop are separate worlds, until rappers developed a penchant for racing jackets that were covered in patches and logos. Always ahead of his time, Pharrell was the freshest dude to sport one of the jackets. In 2008, he wore a Jeff Gordon jacket, that bore the Pepsi logo across the chest; a loud a look for someone with enough style to pull it off.

These days, streetwear has found itself digging in forgotten styles of the 2000s to gain inspiration. Heron Preston, one part of Been Trill, designed a long sleeve T-shirt for his own line that features an inverted NASCAR logo along with the customary sponsor logos. Entitled the "Found Factory Defect" shirt, the tee is a play that altered things can be doper than the original. Much like hip-hop has been doing throughout its existence.

MF Doom gained his now cult-like status around 2005. Even though he hit the scene with KMD in 1988, the rapper's prominence in the 2000s gave him underground notoriety. Adopting the look of Doctor Doom from The Fantastic Four comic, Doom sported a mask to shield himself from the reality of the hip-hop world.

While DOOM has laid back on public appearances, Kanye West revived the mask trend in hip-hop, wearing a crystal Maison Martin Margiela face to perform at Revel in Atlantic City. Does Yeezy listen to Doom? It's possible, and more than likely he has heard KMD. But Kanye is a man dealing with his own demons, too, so maybe he does have something to hide.

Jewlery is nothing new to hip-hop. Since the days of the B-boy and the solid gold dookie rope chains, rappers have been on a quest to out-do each other in liquefiable assets. 2002 saw Lil' Flip emerge from Houston's scene. Although his run would be short-lived, he left us with a few bling-worthy moments, and none were flashier than what he kept up in his mouth. The rapper's platinum-and diamond-encrusted mouthpiece would befit his reputation who would proclaim, "And we like to floss, all my diamonds gloss."

Flash forward to January 2013, and A$AP Rocky is keeping the Houston sound and flair alive in hip-hop. Rocky displays a love for the trill sounds of H-Town, down to his dental care. A departure from Flip's platinum and diamond grill, Rocky sported an all-gold grill set, which perfectly matched his Katie Eary T-shirt.

Did Ghostface Killah predict the rise of Drake? That's a discussion for another day. However, in December 2001, he sported a Team Canada hockey sweater on the cover of Pound Magazine, kissing the golden eagle adorned on his left arm. Sports jerseys in hip-hop are old fare, but the hockey sweater is a unique form of fresh; one that Canada native Drake knows well.

The rapper performed at the 2012 NHL All-Star game, and was given a custom sweater as he rocked the Canadian crowd in Ottawa. As of late, there has been a revival of hockey sweaters, even seeing rappers like A$AP Rocky and brands such as Supreme partaking in the trend. But the connection between Ghostface and Drake is too good. Now, will we ever have them on a track together?

In 2001, Allen Iverson was killing it on the court, and his go-to look included a cocked headband. Rappers like Nelly had a penchant for incorporating athletic gear into their look, and even sported multiple headbands at the same time.

Lately, the headband has been relegated back to the athletes, but Frank Ocean brought back the sweat-absorbing terry cloth in a big way. In 2012, the singer and Odd Future member donned a red headband along with a Fred Perry polo shirt; giving the look an emphasis that only the Channel Orange crooner could pull off.

A fur coat has long been a symbol of wealth, but it's also well-suited for those don't mind being the center of attention. In 2000, Busta Rhymes had become recognizable by mainstream America for his chopped-up, rapid flow and wearing crazy shit. And while a fur jacket may have been the tamest of his outfits, it's also one of the dopest.

With the preconceived notions about fur coats, is there any reason why Kanye West wouldn't wear one? In 2011, a year before he would let PETA know that his mink was dragging on the floor—it nearly was. In January of that year, he was seen baring the New York City winter in a hefty fur jacket, leather pants, and Black Cement Air Jordan IIIs. A look that was "Cold" in its own right.

It's tricky wearing a blue or red paisley print. Even if there are no malintentions, folks are going to assume there are intended gang affiliations. In the 2003 video for "Dipset Anthem," Jim Jones took red paisley print from something hung out of backpocket to an awesome piece of outerwear. The Harlem rapper took his bandanna swagger to a new plateau with the jacket's fur-lined hood.

Now, stylish guys wear bandanna-print T-shirts by Rhude. Kendrick wears the brand's paisley tees in red, but also in white and black, so we doubt that he's throwing up which set he claims.

A white rapper wearing a du-rag is a territory abundant for parody, and unless they have the skills to silence the crowd, there's going to be an onslaught of negative backlash. Luckily, Eminem and Mac Miller are two of the best melanin-deficient dudes to ever grab a mic.

In 2003, for the launch of his short-lived clothing label, Shady, Eminem sported a white, fur-lined winter jacket, along with his head wrapped in a white du-rag. Surprisingly for Em, the look fits him, and had become more of his signature throughout the 2000s, rather than a mocking blip.

Flash-forward to September 2012, and Mac Miller, who once joked he was going to be a du-rag model one day, sported a du-rag untied underneath a bucket hat, as part of his self-proclaimed "Du-Rag and Bucket Hat Tour." Nine years later, Mac is keeping the white rapper in a du-rag torch lit, with a A Bathing Ape T-shirt to boot.

As much as we think it's always going to jump the shark, camouflage will never go out of style. At the 2003 Billboard Awards, Fabolous diverged from his matchy-matchy sports gear and looked like he was ready for war. We'll give him a pass on the Von Dutch jacket and pants, but the punchline-toting rapper proved that there's no such thing as too much camo.

In recent times, we've seen an abundance of camo clothing items—making it hard for people to stand out in the print that's supposed to make one blend in. But G.O.O.D. Music's Travi$ Scott came out at the 2013 mtvU Woodie Awards in Austin, TX in camo jacket, Supreme safety orange camo shirt, and camo mask; upping the camouflage quota to levels even menswear icon Nick Wooster hasn't seen.

Since the days of Gilligan's Island, the bucket hat has been a symbol for stylish guys who want to express their 360-degree waviness. In the 2004 video for "Get 'Em Girls/Killa Cam," Cam'ron was seen in a fresh red camouflage bucket hat. Counting a stack of money, Cam affirmed that only the coolest of dudes were fit to get buckets.

Although the early 2000s are associated with being years that the bucket hat flourished within hip-hop, it has seen a recent revival thanks to rappers like Schoolboy Q,. In March of 2013, Q paid visit out East to Charlamagne, Angela Yee, and crew on Power 105's The Breakfast Club. The L.A. rapper brought his West Coast vibes to the New York radio show, and wore a tie-dye print bucket hat; a less militant take on Cam's army fatigue version, but just as great.

The Diplomats were a pocket of greatness in early 2000s hip-hop. The Harlem-based hip-hop crew took the culture's love for extravagant personalities and clothing, and turned it up a notch. In the 2003 video for "Dipset Anthem," Juelz Santana took being patriotic to a new level. The young crew member wore a head-to-toe American flag look, from bandanna to his red Timberland Field Boots.

In 2011, another eccentric rapper, Lil Wayne, wore a pair of American flag boardshorts while on stage with Drake and DJ Khaled. Wayne's look, despite criticism, is something that would make Uncle Sam proud and bald eagles cry. If done right, red, white, and blue will boost anyone's style.

The white T-shirt has been a summertime staple for hip-hop heads once the temperature moves north of 60 degrees, or anytime they wanted to feel brand new. In 2004, Dem Franchize Boyz and their single "White Tee" brought attention to the crispiest of shirt options. Except, this time, the shirts were extra-long and were an early attempt at playing with proportion.

Although a tall tee has become a cardinal sin amongst rappers today, high fashion has adopted an aesthetic that allows for layering of shirts of multiple lengths—often putting the brand's patrons in garments that resemble a dress. In the 2013 music for Fabolous' single "Ready," Chris Brown sported a sleeveless long shirt from Givenchy. With the rise of the street goth trend, we can expect to see a different take one the once-disposable necessity; turning a five-dollar trend into a luxury lifestyle.

In 2001, Nas' Stillmatic was at the center of the hip-hop world. A feud with Jay-Z and the hard-hitting diss track "Ether" reclaimed the rapper's stake as a lyrical heavyweight after his disappointing Nastradamus effort. On the cover of Stillmatic, Nas is seen a bright orange velour track suit, regaining his credibility with the streets.

Although your uncle on Staten Island kept his track suits in regular rotation, until 2011, the velvet-like suits hadn't found their onto the backs of stylish bros in years. Drake started wearing sweatsuits on the regular, including a black velour number from Versace. The suits are toned-down from how we remember them in the 2000s, but they still give off a luxe-yet-leisurely vibe.