There’s been much written since the dawn of hip-hop about how much the music and culture has transformed fashion. Given it’s always been primarily a youth culture, countless styles have evolved so distinctly that their exact time and region can be pinpointed. Whether kangols and gold chains or bootleg t-shirts with snowmen or glow-in-the-dark skulls on them, hip-hop moves at such a speed that just about any photograph becomes an instant time capsule. So years from now when the historians are piecing together what was hot in December 2016, the answer will be clear: Christmas clothes.
Look, 2016’s been a rough year for all of us, but especially hip-hop which has lost over ten notable contributors in the past year. If everyone decided to end this particular cycle around the sun by making it the best Christmas pageant ever, we at the Weekly wouldn’t blame them. So, in the full spirit of holiday cheer, here’s some of this year’s hip-hop Christmas clothes.
Beyoncé leads the pack with her Lemonade-theme Christmas wear. The red “I Sleigh All Day” hoodie (above) is fun enough, but then the lemons in the Christmas stocking really takes it to the next level. We don’t know how well lemonade mixes with egg nog, but dressed like this, we’d be willing to give it a shot.
The Run the Jewels / Run the Yules puns are just too good to not exist, so thankfully we have this spectacular Christmas sweater with El-P and Killer Mike’s perfectly stitched faces across them. Wholly appropriate from the duo who once recorded a track titled “A Christmas Fucking Miracle.” This year also marks 15 years since Killer Mike broke-out nationally by stealing the show from Outkast on the track “The Whole World,” and next year marks 15 years since El-P’s solo debut Fantastic Damage, so there’s quite a lot to commemorate and be thankful for this holiday season.
Nas’ kneeling Santa is an interesting crossroads of the ironic kitsch of self-aware Christmas sweaters and the poignant design of Santa taking a knee. One of the most stylish pieces on the list, this one’s available in three colors and is also for a charity. As the website states: “A portion of proceeds will go to The Center for Court Innovation, which seeks to help create a more effective and humane justice system, reducing both crime and incarceration.”
Our thoughts are with Kanye as he goes through what’s certainly a difficult time, so for ‘O Come All Ye Faithful,’ were just going to salute and put on that “Christmas in Harlem” track he gave us for free six years ago. The sweater itself is executed way too well to be seen in any way as ugly, and especially now the sentiment seems very genuine. This one could win you some sweater contests for sure.
The Legendary Roots Crew all fit on this legendary sweater. What, you didn’t think they could? Okayplayer also sells matching stocking caps for the ultimate in hip-hop winter gear’s next movement. It’s currently only still available in XXXL, but have some extra stuffing this year and grow into it.
Believe it or not, two entirely different unrelated Etsy artists came up with the same pun and different designs for Snowtorious B.I.G. While there’s not a whole lot that Biggie and Frosty necessarily have in common, the designs are just slick enough to make the pun work.
Who says you can’t re-gift last year’s hottest Drake song/meme in the form of a new Christmas sweater? “Sleigh Bells Ring” works just too perfectly with “Hotline Bling” to possibly pass up, so we’re hoping years down the road when our grandchildren become nostalgic for our nostalgia, this one will still be hot.
