Get the Look: Jay Z

He’s sold about 50 million albums. He’s won numerous awards—including 17 Grammys. He holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200. It’s unquestionable that Jay-Z is one of the best-selling and biggest rap stars today and in everyone’s opinion a big style icon. Undeniably one of the music industry’s heavyweights, this incredibly motivated star has sold a whopping 40 million albums worldwide. As the CEO of Def Jam records from 2004 to 2007, the hip-hop mogul also launched the careers of R’n’B superstars like Rihanna. In short, this man can only be described as unstoppable, and the breadth of his influence on both hip-hop music and style cannot be underestimated.
An influential trendsetter in both the music and the fashion industry, Jay-Z was instrumental in moving hip-hop style beyond baggy jeans and jerseys. His luxurious yet easy-going personal style has led him to continually top best-dressed lists and his knack for dressing for success led him to extended his Midas touch into the fashion world with several impressive and highly lucrative ventures. For example, 2003 saw Jay-Z partner up with Reebok to design, market and front-line the company’s most successful athletic shoe. Then, in 2009, the superstar helped design and launch a line of men’s sneakers for the posh French label Louis Vuitton. And since 1999, along with cofounder Damon Dash, Jay-Z has been at the helm of his own label, Rocawear, a company that rakes in annual sales in the £450 million range.
Effectively, this music visionary’s contributions to the world of style make him not just a style icon, but also a style legend.
Following in Jay-Z’s fashion footsteps means sticking with age-appropriate attire that you know looks great on you. As the star aptly put it: “I don’t wear jerseys, I’m 30 plus. Give me a crisp pair of jeans… [and a] button-up. “To cop Jay-Z’s cool look, begin by taking a cold, hard look at your wardrobe and ruthlessly removing anything that makes you seem like a teenager. Once that’s done, start restocking your closet with amazing basics, suits and unusual accessories. In the first category, you’ll want to invest in plenty of cotton T-shirts and button-downs that you’ll layer underneath V-neck sweaters or cardigans in solid colours or timeless patterns like horizontal stripes. When temperatures drop, continue layering by adding a zip-up hoodie or black leather jacket to your look.

Throughout his 16-year career, he popularized sports jerseys, T-Shirts as du-rags, the all black everything look, a crisp pair of jeans and button ups, and more

In the denim department, make loose fit jeans, like this pair from Jay-Z’s line Rocawear, part of your daily uniform. Slick leather sneakers are also a Jay-Z must-have. To tie your casual ensembles together and ensure your staples never look boring, invest in some quirky jewelry, like long chains with out-of-the-ordinary pendants.
When it’s time to suit up, you can affordably achieve a similar dressy look by favouring pieces from the lower-priced lines of Ralph Lauren and Georgio Armani, two labels in which the star is frequently snapped. To give your dress clothes a personal touch a la Jay-Z, pay attention to accessories, adding an oversize bow tie here or an on-trend scarf there.
Finally, don’t bother overhauling your look every season; he may be a multimillionaire, but Jay-Z recycles his stuff, noting that “if you look me up [in photos], you’ll find me in stuff a hundred times.”
Get the look –

Looking sexy cool on the stage: Black leather jacket from Selected Homme, Grey t-shirt with print from H&M, Black pants from stress, Brown shoes from Timberland, Asos.com, Powerful chain in metal from H&M, Black watch from Diesel at Asos.com, Photo: Getty Images/ All over press / Manufacturers

For girls: Chunky chain in metal from H&M, Pink headphones from Phillips, black Hat from Asos.com, Black and white sweater with metallic details from Weekday, White t-shirt from River Island, Blue caps with the New York logo from Asos.com.

Get inspired: Enjoy and find inspiration with this hip-hop fashion book showing how it was was “Back in the days” at Amazon.com, Grey sneakers with heels from Nike for Asos.com, Red caps with “swag” from Asos.com , Casio-watch in gold at Asos.com, Chunky bracelet in gold from Nelly.com, Gold necklace with motiv details from Nelly.com, Black jacket with white sleeves from Nelly.com, blue cap from Stress.

On the rumours that Blue Ivy didn’t like her mum’s music..
“That’s not true. She does like her mother’s music—she watches [Beyoncé’s concerts] on the computer every night. But my album came out and I don’t know if Blue ever heard any of my music prior to this album—she’s only 18 months old and I don’t play my music around the house. But this album was new, so we played it. And she loves all the songs. She plays a song and she goes, ‘More, Daddy, more . . . Daddy song.’ She’s my biggest fan. If no one bought the Magna Carta [album], the fact that she loves it so much, it gives me the greatest joy. And that’s not like a cliché. I’m really serious. Just to see her—‘Daddy song, more, Daddy.’ She’s genuine, she’s honest, because she doesn’t know it makes me happy. She just wants to hear it.”
On Beyonce and how he wooed her..
“Jay says that when he and Beyoncé were both featured on the cover of Vanity Fair’s 2001 Music Issue “we were just beginning to try to date each other.” Try? “Well, you know, you’ve got to try first. You got to dazzle . . . wine and dine.” He tells [writer] Robinson that “of course” he pursued Beyoncé, and when asked if he hadn’t been Jay Z—say, he had been a gas-station attendant and she pulled up—would he have been able to date her, he responds, “If I’m as cool as I am, yes. But she’s a charming Southern girl, you know, she’s not impressed. . . . But I would have definitely had to be this cool.” Jay confirms that the line on his latest album, “She was a good girl ’til she knew me” is about Beyoncé, and when Robinson asks if she’s not a good girl anymore, Jay laughs, saying, “Nah. She’s gangsta now.””