Raekwon Talks Early Style Influences & Vintage Video Outfits

words & interview // Ian Stonebrook:

The age-old saying is the more things change, the more things stay the same. For hip-hop fashion, that couldn’t be any more true. Much like 20 years ago when the Golden Era of rap was at its height, designer sportswear and luxury labels still top the totem pole, shifting slightly from Polo pullovers to Saint Laurent sneakers.

While Heraclitus stated that change is the only constant, Raekwon has proven a force by staying the same. More rooted and defined than swift and changeable, the Chef’s time capsule quotables and strong sense of style have kept him in the ears of listeners and on the eyes of brands for the better part of two decades. Releasing his latest solo album, Fly International Luxurious Art aka FILA, both the backronym album title and brush stroke flow find Raekwon remaining relevant while staying true to himself. Leading up to the release, we caught up with the Chef to talk about his early style influences, undying love for the Air Force 1 and the vintage video gear he still has in storage.

Nice Kicks: Growing up in Staten Island, who’d you look up to fashion wise, whether it be neighborhood guys or different rappers?

Raekwon: Definitely the OGs living in the neighborhood, they pretty much schooled us on how to dress. We were also getting a lot of style from rappers like Slick Rick, Run DMC and Big Daddy Kane. Those type of guys were definitely on our radar when it came to wearing certain types of things. I remember Doug E. Fresh wearing a lot of Ballys and Slick Rick would wear Clarks Wallabees. These were all the dudes that we looked up to when we were coming up.

Nice Kicks: What were the first pair of sneakers you remember having to own as a kid?

Raekwon: MY ADIDAS! Those were the sh*t. You get a fresh pair of adidas? You were the man back then. I remember adidas were $40 and we would do anything to have a fresh pair because it was hard as a kid to get more than one pair of sneakers from your moms. You had to treasure them because you knew you weren’t getting your next pair of kicks for about two to three months. I remember doing everything to keep them clean. It got to the point where we even started putting shoe polish on them because you couldn’t get them stinking white again. You had to dump the whole bottle of the shoe polish on them and buff them up.

Nice Kicks: How has your preference in sneakers changed or rather remained the same over the years?

Raekwon: I like all kind of shoes. Definitely I’ve advanced to other things, but you never forget those brands because you grew up on them. I love to throw on adidas now and then — and I still do — but more importantly it’s all about variety now for me. I’ve been doing a lot of track sneakers lately just for comfortablilty purposes.

It just depends on whatever’s out. I’m always gonna keep my ear to the street. Jordans, of course. Those came out a little later during my teenage years. And of course, you can never front on the Air Force 1s. That’s basically the giddy up shoe. That was the get money shoe.

Nice Kicks: What’s made the Air Force 1 a staple for you over all these years?

Raekwon: In my days of getting money and just working for something I really wanted, it was a shoe I could wear with anything. Whether I had a sweatsuit on or a pair of jeans, I’d be able to wear a fresh pair of Air Force 1s because they were comfortable. That shoe always came through. Like I said, you could have a dope sweatsuit on or just being chilling with some jeans and a leather jacket and nothing could go wrong with a fresh pair of Air Forces.

Nice Kicks: Fashion wise, who impresses you in hip-hop these days?

Raekwon: I like what Ye’s doing with his sneaker line, making that dope adidas with the suede, kind of like a moccasin type style. I salute him doing that. Then I see a lot of designers coming up doing their own brands that I respect a lot. I keep my eyes on the DGKs, the Dolphins, all them different brands. I would say a lot of them are just doing what they love to do which is being creative with their fashion. That’s their art that they’re putting down and I respect that.

photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images via Zimbio

Nice Kicks: When working with the A$AP Rockys and the Kanyes, do they still fan out on you when it comes to fashion?

Raekwon: They know that we came up in the time when clothes were everything. It was really based more on kicking it. They’d hear Wallabee stories and stuff of that nature, random stuff.

Nice Kicks: Looking back at your early days, who did you consider in your league style wise among your peers?

Raekwon: Nas was doing his thing, switching it up a little bit. Jay, B.I.G. blew Coogi up and made that a more successful brand. CNN was making Carhartt look a lot more rugged, rocking it right. Then you had Cam representing with the Avirexs and all of that. They was living right up there above the shop, they was definitely turning it up with the leathers, the Peles and all that. You had a lot of dudes that what was really just staying fresh.

Nice Kicks: When it comes to clothes, do you keep a lot of your old pieces?

Raekwon: I always try to keep some things, but it’s hard to keep up with certain stuff. I’ve got clothes in different states, I’ve got all kinds of sh*t. Sometimes I’ll go through boxes while I’m in certain places and I’ll be like, “Oh sh*t, I wore this in an old video.” When I run across certain pieces, I might even throw them back on. One thing I found that I had back in the day was these mink pants I had made for a Big Pun video. I think he had already passed away and everybody came out and paid respects to him in the video because the song was about him. It was a mink vest and some mink pants that I had made custom. It had mink pockets and mink cuffs at the bottom of the pants — it was a dope fit. I had seen it a couple months back and I caught myself eying it like I’m about to jump into it but it was too big though. You never know, I might just give it to one of my stylist friends and let somebody frame it and put it a glass case or something. [Laughs]

Nice Kicks: Which other video outfits would get the glass case treatment?

Raekwon: Of course the “Can It All Be So Simple” video. I had the classic, Ralph Lauren Snow Beach jacket. That piece right there is definitely one of my favorites as well. Then the “John Blaze” video with the Iceberg sweatsuit. I’ve still got that. That sh*t’s probably faded out or whatever but I guess people like it when it looks like that. This is stuff that I left in my mom’s house in Jersey, mad different clothes.

Nice Kicks: You’ve seen a lot change in this game since you got in, yet you’ve never seemed to reach with your style musically or fashionably. Why is that?

Raekwon: I guess because I’m cut from a cloth where you don’t have to reach or try too hard to be who you are. You just be who you are and people see that a mile away. I’m always gonna keep myself up to par because that’s just the nature of Raekwon. When I walk out the door, it’s mandatory that I’m coordinating. I’m more of a basic guy. I’m a leather jacket dude, I like good jeans, I love hats. I just create my style as I make it, but I’m always gonna be attached to fashion. When you’re used to getting fly, you don’t even need a lot to be fly anymore. Now I might wear stuff that don’t even match, but if it’s all quality sh*t I know how to make it work, you know?

Nice Kicks: What can fans expect from the new FILA album and anything else we should be looking for?

Raekwon: We’re definitely celebrating 20 years of Only Built for Cuban Linx with a great album. To my fans, stay on the lookout and stay fresh to death because that can always keep your personality and your character up to par. Just stay up to par and get ready for this dope album — it’s gonna be serious — and get ready to see this documentary that’s coming next year.

Fly Luxurious International Art is available now on iTunes.