One of the world's foremost collectors of all things hip-hop, DJ Ross One presents—for the first time ever—a much sought after collection of T-shirts in this lushly produced and detailed catalog showcasing over 500 of the genre's best. Rap Tees outshines all other rap tee collections and will be the definitive reference for generations to come. Providing not only a valuable reference and style guide to these ultra-rare shirts, Rap Tees is also a unique chronology of the history of hip-hop.
Beginning with the earliest rap concert shirts from the Sugar Hill Gang and New York Fresh Fest, circa 1980-84, and spanning the next two decades, Rap Tees includes rare shirts from a wide selection of the who's-who of the business including: Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Beastie Boys, Eric B and Rakim, Wu Tang Clan, Jay Z, Nas, EMPD, and many, many more. Rap Tees bookends the golden age of rap with unique street-corner memorial shirts commemorating the deaths of The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur.
Unlike typical rock n' roll shirts, hip-hop tees were often made in extremely limited quantities. The elusive concert, promotional, and bootleg tees included in this book are nearly impossible to find on the open market. Only DJ Ross One could track down these gems for you in this one-of-a-kind book, making Rap Tees the consummate guide for these unique pieces of music history.