The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event honoring old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors. After a six year hiatus, the TV special returned to US music network VH1. Broadcast live from the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, the event, which was hosted by Grammy award winner rapper Eve, honored the queens of hip hop.

The TV special featured live performances by the honorees (Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and others) along with new school artists.

Even though the focus this year was on the female pioneers and trend-setters who made their voices heard in this male-dominated genre, we paid close attention to the men who attended the event as well and analyzed the good and the bad in their red carpet outfits.

The fashion

In terms of menswear, the Hip Hop Honors are a very casual, relaxed setting (maybe too relaxed), which goes with the genre of hip hop music extremely well. The men who attended the event wore hip hop attire, with loose, relaxed clothes, a lot of sportswear, denim and bold accessories. As usually, we love to connect fashion and music and notice how the strong looks of hip hop celebrities go hand in hand with the highly dynamic, yet rhythmic and wavy sounds of hip hop. The hip hop subculture is all about being seen and being strong, and the clothes always reflect the music.

The vibe of the event, reflected in the clothes worn by the attendees has both positive and negatives.

The positives

The best aspect of celebrities such as LL Cool J or Tristan Wilds wearing streetwear and even sportswear to an event is that they show how you can wear this type of clothes and still look great. Many people, when they put on sportswear look tired and outdated, but hip hop stars often find a way to make these types of clothes look great, which can serve as a good source of inspiration for those who want to wear sportswear and still look put together.

The second good aspect of music stars wearing sportswear to an event is that they are appropriating the idea of an “event” and making it entirely their own, by not dressing for the Hip Hop Honors like most people do at a classic awards show such as the Oscars or the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The negatives

Interestingly enough, the positives can also be regarded as a negative. While we appreciate it that hip hop stars are staying true to their style, we would like to see them dress up for an occasion. OK, maybe the Hip Hop honors are not the occasion to do that, but we would really enjoy seeing how a hip hop celeb is expressing his personal style through other means. What would a hip hop suit look like? Food for thought.

To conclude, it can be said that, while we did enjoy that the male celebrities who attended the 2016 Hip Hop Honors did wear clothes specific to their genre, we do understand that this show is not a mainstream one. We’d love to see some well-made hip hop looks on other red carpets, because, in the end, diversity is what makes the world spin.

Fraquoh and Franchomme

Further reading:

A guide to the urban look

P.S. What do you think of the 2016 Hip Hop Honors? Did you watch the event? What did you make about the clothes worn by the men? Share your feedback, questions or thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!