Shawn Jay-Z Carter and Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash just wanted it to be about them. When they founded Rocawear Clothing Company in 1999, they unabashedly admitted they wished to sell clothes that expressed how they wanted to dress. They figured other people looking for hip hop clothing and urban clothing might like the look as much as they did.
It was a good strategy. Today, Rocawear clothes include urban jeans, shirts and tops, hats, loungewear and boxers. A womens wear line and a childrens line round out the offerings. The company also has international sites where it offers exclusive products to certain markets.
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Neither Jay-Z nor Damon Dash stayed with Rocawear Clothing Company. Dash left in 2005, selling his stake in the brand for $22.5 million plus interest in other companies, including State Property, Team Roc, Pro-Keds and others. Dash started Team Roc as a Rocawear athletic apparel sub-brand. Jay-Z sold the Rocawear brand to the Iconix Brand Group is 2007 for $205 million.
But Jay-Z hasnt gone away completely. He has held on to his interests in the operating company responsible for manufacturing the clothing. He has two partners running the manufacturing operation.
It can hardly be doubted that the intense and growing interest in Rocawear clothing is partly the result of rapper Jay-Zs fame. He has always been very conscious of the image he portrays. In fact, it might be said that his success owes a great deal to the European and urban clothing fashions he wears, emphasizing newer brands.
As an aside, there are lots of rumors about how Shawn Carter got the stage name Jay-Z. The mystery probably wont ever be solved for certain because, frankly, its good publicity if people dont know. But a possible origin of the name comes from the days before Carter started rapping and rap was even called rap.
It seems Carters friends were so impressed by the way he dressed even back then that they started calling him Jazzy. After a while, that name morphed into Jay-Z when Carter took to the stage to entertain millions of fans.
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If theres a philosophy behind the way Rocawear Clothing Company came to be, maybe its this: If you like something, chances are other people will, too. If youre a rapper and you want to sell to people who listen to rap, then figure out where your head is and youll have gone a long way toward figuring out where they are.
Its not so much about selfishness as self-awareness. Thats not a bad thing to have, no matter who you are.
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