Music and fashion have always gone hand and hand; Artists become celebrities and icons through a unique quality, their performance and their ability to affect society in some shape or form whether it is through their image and style or their views and actions. Many musical artists have recognised that they can create a brand through their fame as people want to share their style and lifestyle. It has been going on for years such as when the Spice Girls wore buffalo boots, people through by mimicking them, that they too showed ?Girl power? and when the Sex Pistols wore bicker boots and torn t-shirts, people also wanted to wear the same to reflect them and to show that they too were anarchists. Now ti sis the turn of the rappers, and many have successfully translated their image into a brand for people to buy into. One such rapper is Jay z.

Due to society?s celebrity obsession, becoming stronger and stronger, it is no wonder that many celebrities have recognised the profitability of their name and image. Many have brands that offer clothes, fragrances, and accessories all designed supposedly by the artist themselves. Jay Z was one of the first hip hop artists to jump on the band wagon and start his own range which is arguable one of the most popular and successful.

Jay Z endorses the bran called Rocawear. Although he founded the company with his business partner and friend Damon Dash, in 1999, by 2006, Jay Z decided to go it alone, and took over the company due to the pair falling out. The rocawear clothing range was originally just for man, but expanded into ladies wear, childrens wear, footwear and accessories producing an estimated annual turnover of over $700 million. However, the profits don? tstop their for Jayz, as in 2007, he sold the rights to Rocawear to the group Iconix with Jay Z walking away $207 million richer. This shows the enormous potential that these celebrity brands have and that if they become successful, there is no limits to the earnings.

How this urban brand manages to be so successful is through its identification with the fans, with Jay Z still at the design helm Rocawear and even wears the clothes from rocawear on tour. It is clear to see that customers by the range to replicate the hip hop artist Rocawear and the most popular ranges of the lines are the jeans by rocawear. The brand that Jay z has successfully created allows others to taste a bit of the fame letting them associate with their favourite rap star. Many other celebrity brands are also successful in achieving this and many more in the future will follow in his footsteps.

Rocawear urban clothing is one of the leading hip hop fashion brands throughout the wolrd representing street style that youths of today can identify with.