What Defines Hip Hop Style?
peace during the 60’s with the music of Woodstock. Would there be a Woodstock with out the hippie movement? It’s a question of “which came first the chicken or the egg?” No where else is this relationship better exemplified more than in the world of hip hop. Hip hop is influenced by what’s happening in the city streets of America. Urban America is hip hop. The complicated, often hard life of living in an urban environment defines the style factors of hip hop. A more important question when asking what defines hip hop is what factors determine how a style is perceived. It’s usually decided by lyrical content, how the lyrical content is performed, or geographical location but not solely on one thing. It can be and usually is a combination of all three. Any one of these influencing factors can shape how you dress – Gap or BabyPhat; what you listen to – Common or Kanye; what you drive – Escalades or pimped Civics; etc. Style is important and image is everything in the world of hip hop. If
