Music-business volatility pushed rappers toward apparel as stable revenue and brands mirroring drug-dealer style.

Evidence

The music business is an exercise in chaos management: Hit artists are here today, gone tomorrow. To offset this volatility, savvy managers seek stable revenue streams, and apparel emerged in the 1990s as an obvious choice. Early rappers flaunted aspirational global brands like Kangol, Adidas, and Polo Ralph Lauren, often mirroring the style of local drug dealers. By the 1990s, Afrocentricity in the rap community inspired Black entrepreneurs to launch their own labels, including Cross Colours, FUBU, and Karl Kani. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 90