When Jay Z stepped onto the hip-hop scene in 1996 with his debut album Reasonable Doubt, not only did he influence the culture lyrically, his style over the years has also left a lasting impression.
Entering the game as a young man from the streets of Brooklyn and evolving into one of the greatest artists and businessmen of today’s hip-hop era, it’s only right that Mr. Carter allowed his style game to grow with him.
Earlier in the week, New York Magazine released eight cover images for their “Yesteryear” issue, which included a flashback 1997 image of a casually dressed young Hov rocking a blue button down with a red shirt, a loose-fitting black leather jacket, and a Cincinnati Reds hat. Fast forward to today and it will be much harder for you to find the man, who’s graced the front of Forbes magazine with Warren Buffet, rocking such a casual cover look.
While Blue Ivy’s dad has made it clear that you can miss him with the skinny jeans trend, his ability to throw on a nice tailored suit at the drop of a hat shows that the once “forever mackin'” Jay has grown into a wise husband and father who has taken his style to newer heights and made it cool to be on your suit and tie ish.
And we of course cannot mention Mr. Carter’s style without recognizing the lady behind the garments, his stylist June Ambrose, who’s responsible for a lot of the rapper’s best fashion moments.
Take a look at the gallery below to see how Jay Z’s fashion sense has evolved since his very first magazine cover in 1996.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tumblr
