Rapper's Deluxe

A visual and cultural history of hip hop, charting its meteoric rise from underground trailblazer to global tastemaker

To tell the story of contemporary American culture is to tell the story of hip hop. From its humble, underground origins, hip hop transcended the confines of rap music and spread its influence across a broad spectrum of American life – fashion, film, art, sports, politics, language – to become a cultural movement of profound influence.

Rapper’s Deluxe is a critical contribution to America’s cultural canon, shining a light on hip hop’s ability to redefine and influence culture, through: photographs; fine art; advertisements; book, magazine, and album covers; film stills; and more. Organized chronologically from the 1970s to the present, image-rich and dynamic layouts show the people, places, events, objects, outfits, and inspirations that redefined the world as we know it – from fur-coated fans lining up for a Muhammad Ali fight at Madison Square Garden to a legendary party in the “Boogie Down” Bronx, through the hoods of South Los Angeles and the trap houses of Atlanta to the extravagant red carpet looks of the Met Gala.