- [Narrator] The perfect hip hop MC
combines two parts rhyme sayer, one part charisma,
and a whole lot of style.
The success of a project isn't just about the music,
but an artist's ability to rock a look.
These artists not only gave fans amazing albums,
they looked the part.
Creating trends that shifted culture and the fashion world.
(rhythmic hip hop music)
In the early 2000's, hip hop clothing lines had everyone
emulating looks famous on their favorite artists.
While some rappers who started fashion lines
showed up to the race,
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs grabbed the baton
and ran laps with it.
Combs kept us rocking to the beat from 1988 through 1996
by producing projects for R&B and hip hop titans,
including Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Faith Evans,
Craig Mac, and the Notorious B.I.G.
In 1998, Diddy came from behind the board
into the spotlight with his debut album, "No Way Out."
Expanding his reach from producer to artist,
Sean Combs added designer to his credits,
capitalizing on the image he created
along with his team at Bad Boy Records
would prove far more lucrative.
In 1998, P. Diddy created a fashion line
for sportswear for men called Sean John.
The line received critical acclaim,
earning a Menswear Designer of the Year Award.
At its height, the brand amassed over $525 million annually.
In 2008, Sean John purchased
the street wear lifestyle brand Enyce
from Liz Claiborne for $20 million.
That same year saw the combining
of Comb's FiFi award-winning fragrance Unforgivable
with Sean John's new fragrance, I Am King.
In 2010, Sean John entered
an exclusive distribution deal with Macy's,
who would become the sole purveyor of Sean John clothing.
The brand has since expanded from sportswear
into a fully vertical manufacturing and marketing powerhouse
with childrenswear, womenswear, suits and watches,
and even an exclusive marketing alliance with the NBA.
Diddy can't stop and won't stop.
Pharrell Williams entered the rap and R&B scene
in the early 1990s with homeys from VA
to form NE.R.D. and the Neptunes,
who wrote songs for Teddy Riley
and produced tracks for mega musicians,
including Jay Z, Babyface and Britney Spears.
In 2003, the collaboration began between Pharrell
and Japanese fashion nobility Nigo,
to launch streetwear fashion brand Billionaire Boys Club
and shoewear brand Ice Cream.
The exclusive designs
with intentionally limited production runs
yielded frenzy amongst fashion and music fans.
Pharrell's light shone so brightly
that haute couture and ready-to-wear label Louis Vuitton
commissioned him to co-design jewelry
and eyewear lines in 2008.
Harnessing the power of his fashion accomplishments,
in 2011 Pharrell partnered
with his frequent music collaborator Jay Z
and apparel brand management company Iconix
to raise money for Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream.
In the same year,
Williams would become the creative director
for streetwear brand Karmaloop.
Two years later in 2013,
luxury brand Moncler selected Pharrell
to create a line of eyewear.
A year later Pharrell's phone was ringing off the hook.
This time it was Adidas,
with whom he would enter a long-term partnership
to create an iconic sneaker line.
In 2014, the money train continued barreling down the track,
with more deals with G-Star RAW and Uniqlo.
Then in 2017, Pharrell designed a $1,000 tennis shoe
in collaboration with Chanel and Adidas.
There's no frontin'.
Pharrell Williams applied his white hot swag
found in his personal style to all he touched.
Behind the microphone and on the pages
of some of the world's most respected fashion lines,
Pharrell exposed the world
to a whole new type of hip hop fashion.
Kanye West's roots run deep in the fashion world.
He initially declared his intention
for releasing a fashion line, Pastelle Clothing, in 2006.
Although the line was ultimately canceled in 2009,
that same year West would collaborate with Nike
to create a line of shoes, the Air Yeezys.
The shoe was so popular,
a second iteration was launched in 2012.
The Yeezy Nike deal was the first
non-athlete shoe deal for them,
reinforcing brand's awareness of Kanye's influence on style.
Between 2009 and 2011,
West had partnerships with Louis Vuitton,
Giuseppe Zanotti, Fendi, and Dsquared2.
In 2013, Kanye West announced to the world
he'd be teaming up
to create the Yeezy Boost shoes with Adidas.
The announcement was part of a massive marketing campaign,
streaming the release event
that took place in New York City,
to 50 cinemas in 13 countries around the globe.
All 9,000 units of the Yeezy Boost sold exclusively in NYC
via the Adidas app were gone in less than 10 minutes.
Much like the Air Jordan,
the Yeezy has become one of the most influential sneakers
in the world.
Following the success of the initial release,
Adidas decided to renew
a long-term contract with West in 2016.
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West
all are multi-platinum multi award-winning hip hop artists.
However, beyond music, each use their fandom
and stylish images to sell apparel and wearables
to be consumed by millions worldwide.
Indeed, they have mad skills.
(upbeat hip hop instrumental music)