In hip-hop, bling is dead. Hefty gold chains and diamond-encrusted pendants the size of passports now feel as played out as brass knuckles or Timberland boots -- relics from '90 hip-hop culture. A gentlemanly (dare we say quiet?) style has slowly been usurping rap's brazen flashiness. And suddenly, rappers everywhere are looking like variations on one artist -- Common.
The veteran rapper, who's also made forays into acting over the last few years (he currently costars in "Terminator Salvation"), has been working his trademark dapper look for more than a decade now. Long before Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z traded their Starter jackets for classic tuxedos, Common, nee Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., was experimenting with three-piece suits, cravats and argyle sweaters.
One of the pioneers of socially conscious rap, the 37-year-old has only recently ascended to household-name status, but his backdoor influence on the evolution of hip-hop style from roughneck to refined is as transparent as his deep, sonorous voice.
Not that he'd ever cop to such a claim. A highly spiritual person, Common's an avid practitioner of humility; he says his success is "all God," and he prays silently before digging into a plate of paella at his publicist's West Hollywood office.
Still, he's glad the face of hip-hop is veering away from carats and Cristal. "I think it's great that [bling] is gone," he said. "That really didn't exemplify style. It was just like, 'I have the money to buy this.' And that ain't what style's about. . . . I think good style is about having an eye for quality things and putting them together so they have a feel and integrity and flavor."
Dressed in dark, spotless Ralph Lauren jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt and gray Nike Air Yeezy sneakers designed by his friend and sometimes co-producer Kanye West, Common looks pulled together in that effortless way that's based on quality fits and fabrics, as opposed to look-at-me splash. He's a fan of the classics -- white T-shirts, cashmere sweaters, basic jeans, dark suits -- and though he likes to incorporate global influences into his wardrobe, via scarves, colors or prints, the resulting ensembles are always straight-up masculine.
His style idols, Miles Davis and Malcolm X, speak to his man's man aesthetics. "How they look was a part of who they were, which I like," he said. "Miles had a funk to his style, but it was sharp and progressive. Malcolm X . . . had a clean look, but there was something about his glasses and his goatee that was interesting."
