Jay Z Fitted Hats
Jay Z Fitted Hats
Jay Z fitted hats are a staple in hip-hop culture. Whether they’re a nod to a city, a baseball team or the rapper himself, these hats have become a cultural mark of distinction.
Jay-Z wore a Yankee fitted cap to his Made In America concert in 2015 and it was a major highlight of the evening. The New York native has a longstanding love for the iconic hat and wears it as a way to represent his home city.
The rapper is often seen sporting the hats of the cities he’s performed in, a nod to a fad that he began as part of his Hard Knock Life tour at the cusp of the millennium. This trend is still in play and Jay Z continues to wear his fitted hats as a nod to his city of birth.
Roc Nation has recently been in the news, however, thanks to a lawsuit filed against the company by Iconix Brand Group over the use of the Roc Nation logo on caps. The suit cites Jay Z’s Roc Nation label as the source of the misused logo and seeks at least $10 million from a number of parties involved.
Iconix is a brand management firm that owns the logo and licenses it to apparel brands like Marc Ecko, Mossimo and Umbro, among others. They are now suing Jay Z and Roc Nation over the unauthorized use of the Roc Nation logo on baseball caps, as well as Major League Baseball Properties, New Era, Lids and the San Francisco Giants.
The lawsuit is the latest development in a long-standing dispute between the two companies. In 2007, Iconix paid $204 million to acquire the Roc Nation logo and related intellectual property from Roc Nation, which is also a clothing line operated by Jay Z.
Since then, Iconix has continued to use the Roc Nation brand and the Rocawear logo in various ways without paying Jay Z for his consent or permission. The lawsuit, which was filed in New York state court, accuses Roc Nation, MLB and other entities of attempting to profit from the unauthorized placement of the Roc Nation name on hats.
Despite the lawsuit, the rapper is still wearing his Roc Nation hats and they’re still making an impact on street style. He’s been spotted wearing a white bucket hat on #Baecation in July and an East Hampton tie-dye style by Paper Plane last September, both of which are currently available for preorder at Grailed. He’s also sported a few custom hats from Hood Hat, including a “Marcy” style that pays homage to the rapper’s childhood upbringing in the Marcy Projects and a “560 State Street” style that references the stash spot where Jay Z lives.