Metal is the music of the high school loner, clad in black jeans and blacker eye shadow. It’s the music of the middle-aged dad, clinging to everything about his youth except the mullet.
And now, it’s the music of rap superstars such as Kanye West and Travis Scott.
Not necessarily in sound — shrieking synths and chest rattling 808s have all but replaced chugging guitar riffs and double bass drum rumbles as the predominant angst-delivery devices.
But the “give-no-fucks” style and attitude of heavy metal music has become increasingly popular in modern rap, and nowhere is it more important than it is in the street fashion that these hip-hop artists wear.
While his music tends to blend Atlanta rap trends with G.O.O.D. Music maximalism, Travis Scott’s fashion sense is mostly ripped straight from the world of 80s metal music. The Travis Scott Uniform™ consists largely of tattered skinny jeans, black band T-shirts and occasionally extravagant jewelry. And his tour merch looks like it could be for a metal band that shares his name — designed with traditional densely printed tour dates, skulls and flames in mind.
While Scott has been called a poser for his infatuation with metal fashion, the unholy marriage of the outsider genres is more credible than ever, thanks to a new, legitimate collaboration between the groups.
Last week, iconic street wear brand Supreme, donned by rappers for years, announced its new collection with one of metal’s biggest groups: Slayer. The California thrash metal band has been making bone-crunching and soul-crushing music since 1981. And while their merchandise has been worn by fans (and rappers) for decades, this new foray into hip-hop approved designer clothing looks to cement metal’s reputation as the throwback look of rappers everywhere.
And if anything can do it, it’s this. The actual clothing in the collection mixes Slayer’s signature brutality with the sleek, flex-ability of street fashion. The outfits, mostly black and white and splattered with blood red emblems, look custom made for rappers who already obsess over the intense iconography of heavy metal.
And while it might not seem like it, the relationship is mutually beneficial. Sure, it’s questionable that some of the rappers who rock metal gear are actually big fans of the genre, but hey, sometimes things are just aesthetically pleasing. And for metal bands that peaked in the 80s, if even one rap-listening kid decides to check out a Slayer or Metallica or Iron Maiden or Megadeth song because their favorite rapper rocked a t-shirt, then what’s the harm?
But ideally, more connections like Slayer x Supreme will come to be, because collaboration is almost always preferable to appropriation, even if the result is still $44 T-shirts and $178 hoodies.
Because rappers want to look cool, and heavy metal artists know how.
So yas, bitch…slay.
