For the past 20 years Summer Jam, a hip hop summer music festival held in East Rutherford, New Jersey has been the place to be for hip hop lovers both near and far. The Met Life Stadium, home of the NY Giants, is the perfect venue for this festival as was apparent as the crowds continued to pile in for the show. The hottest artists in the industry, both the newbies and the veterans bring their A-game to the stage in an effort to get the crowd more and more excited with each performance.
Since fashion and music go hand in hand, you can always look forward to style statements being made or continued by those who have a more “uniformed” look as each performer takes the stage. Having performed at the Summer Jam concert in 1994 and a few times in between, it was great to see iconic rapper, Nas hit the stage this year to perform.
With the release of his recent documentary “Time Is Illmatic” which opened the 2014 TriBeCa Film Festival, Nas continues to get bigger and better but his style for stage performances is definitely more classic hip hop. Possibly even dare I say, a bit “uniform” but always with a touch of luxury and like the stand out, red Salvatore Ferragamo belt he wore, it fits him perfectly. This is a great lesson in how to look good with a “less is more” styling focus.
For the past couple of years there’s been a rise in a show of patriotism, both in its traditional “red, white and blue” form as well as in a more contrasting black and white flag print or even an all black version. This years’ Summer Jam artists were no exception to this trend. Both Meek Mill and French Montana who came out during the Nas performance wore a leather jacket and tee respectfully based on the American flag concept.
R&B singer Trey Songz, kept his look clean but also included a military influence. With army green cargo pants and a light tee to complement the look, it was a good example of how to dress for a music festival. Hey, the look works, whether you’re an attendee or a performer.
Bunji Garlin,a ragga soca artist from Trinidad and Tobago showed his tropical/Caribbean side by dressing in white. The Burberry shirt offered just enough style and pop of plaid color to complement the all white look. What better way to bring in the spring and summer season that with a chic, crisp, white outfit?
After being banned 10 years ago following an on-stage altercation, 50 cent also made his return to the Summer Jam stage this year. As expected, he brought out an entourage of other artists and friends to accompany him on stage. His look? Let’s just say there was enough gold and diamonds to fund a small country.
Be Sure to Have a Fashionable Father’s Day
Now let’s focus on the kicks for a moment. The choice of footwear by The Roots lead singer, name, Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dog/Snoop Lion (whichever name you chose to call him), truly ushered in the spirit of old school hip hop in a new school way.
And finally, the one female rapper on the main stage, Nicki Minaj. She’s been known to wear lots of head turning, revealing looks however, her choice for Summer Jam 2014 was an interesting mix of trend and sexy. The metal mesh crop top by Fannie Schiavoni (over braless pasties), high waisted black and white printed pants and black, python stripy sandal booties by Gucci, created quite a stir as you could imagine.
