Fans of ’90s hip-hop will be delighted, as Jeff Hamilton has crafted one of his signature leather jackets to celebrate Death Row Records’ 30th anniversary.
Basketball fans of the 90s and 2000s are familiar with the work of Hamilton, whose patch-covered NBA championship jackets were worn by Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. His colorful designs are synonymous with success, and Hamilton is also responsible for most of the NASCAR jackets that were super trendy about five years ago.
For Death Row – once home to Tupac, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg – Hamilton created a crisp black and gold jacket with the brand’s menacing logo front and center. It’s a relatively simple design with a special “Death Row Records 30” logo as the only other market, but should become an instant wardrobe highlight for hardcore hip-hop fans.
Hip-hop and basketball, what more could you ask for? The old saying goes that rappers want to be basketball players while basketball players want to be rappers, and you only have to follow Drake to see that’s still true today.
“This collaboration with Death Row Records is very special to me, as I consider them one of the pillars of culture,” Hamilton said in a statement. “The culture we’re referring to is a movement that started, in my opinion, in the 90s with basketball, Jordan, the hip-hop explosion. Fashion is a derivative of this whole movement which must continually evolve with the trends set by basketball, art and music.
This wearable intersection of hip-hop, basketball and fashion won’t come cheap, as Death Row is taking pre-orders for its Jeff Hamilton jacket for $991 a pop. However, Hamilton pieces are still more expensive and now serve as treasured keepsakes for sports and hip-hop fans.
