Fearless Sweatsuit Jacket Designed by Dapper Dan and Worn by Master O.C.
This sweatsuit jacket was formerly owned by Master O.C. of the Fearless Four, one of the first Hip-Hop crews to gain national prominence in the early 1980s. Adorned in matching chains, spikes, boots, and yards of red leather, the group soon developed a reputation for flashy costumes and heavy primping. Hip-Hop fashion took on many forms and styles of expression, while the music has always represented creativity, the fashion in Hip-Hop took on that same effort where artists, DJs, dancers, and fans of the culture would dress to express their fashion taste, what people in their community were wearing to influence urban street wear or B-boy style. The street/B-Boy style included jeans, sneakers, tank tops, over-sized clothing, large gold jewelry, velour sweat suits, Cazals glasses, and Kangol hats. The Hip-Hop style of the 1980s were so unique in New York, one could tell the difference of what neighborhoods and boroughs people were from based on their style of dress.
The jacket seen here was designed by famous designer Dapper Dan. New York’s premier designer of custom leather goods, Dapper Dan worked out of his shop on 125th Street in Harlem. Daniel Day (born August 8, 1944), known as Dapper Dan, is an American fashion designer and haberdasher from Harlem, New York. His influential store, Dapper Dan's Boutique, operated from 1982–92 and is most associated with introducing high fashion to the Hip-Hop world, with his clients over the years including Eric B. & Rakim, Salt-N-Pepa, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z. Dapper Dan tailored to all the city’s top Hip-Hop artists, as well as such celebrities as then-heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson.
The Fearless Four was made up of four MCs and two DJs, including Master O.C. (Oscar Rodriquez, Jr.), MCs The Great Peso, Devastating Tito, Mighty Mike C and DLB alongside DJs Master O.C. and Krazy Eddie. Their Fearless Four’s two biggest rap hits were “Rockin’ It,” released in 1982, and “Problems of the World Today,” which followed in 1983. It was the first crew to be signed to a major label, Elektra Records. The group only released one studio album, Creepin' up on Ya, which was released in 1994.
