Nas has been following hip-hop fashion with a close eye ever since he first set foot outside of the Queensbridge apartment he was raised in. At first he was just enamored with the older guys in his neighborhood, but when Eric B & Rakim’s Paid In Full was released — everything changed.
“[Eric B.] is a pioneer and one of the main reasons we do this,” Nas tells VIBE at the Fresh Dressed premiere as he stands next to the legendary producer. This man right here changed the world. He put hip-hop fashion on an album cover in ’86. Everyone in here took something from him.”
The upcoming Sasha Jenkins-directed hip-hop fashion film Fresh Dressed captures all the looks the culture has produced since its inception. In the documentary, we hear from Nas, Kanye West, Pharrell, Big Daddy Kane, Dapper Dan and other influential figures in rap fashion.
“I’m a people watcher. I love watching what people are wearing. I look at that and I see how I can freak it,” explains Nas about his early fashion influences. “I’ve always been like that. As a kid I’ve been wearing Bally shoes and silk shirts since I was basically 13-years-old just from watching people around me, and wanting to look like them. “
Fresh Dressed opens in theaters on June 26 and will be available on demand the same day.
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