In Pictures: Champion’s Beastie Boys and Naughty by Nature collaborations in celebration of 50 years of hip-hop
Sports apparel and footwear brand Champion has launched two new collaborations in celebration of 50 years of hip-hop.
This includes a second collection drop with Beastie Boys, as well as a new collaboration with Naughty by Nature.
Both collaborations have their own anniversaries to celebrate, as it is 25 years since the release of Beastie Boys’ Grammy winning fifth album, ‘Hello Nasty’, and 30 years since Naughty by Nature’s third album ‘19 Naughty III’, which included the stand-out track ‘Hip Hop Hooray’.
The video for ‘Hip Hop Hooray’ was directed by Spike Lee and featured other prolific figures including Eazy-E and Kriss Kross, with the group themselves sporting Champion hooded sweats.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original album launch, Champion has collaborated with Naughty by Nature to re-release the iconic ‘Baseball Bat Reverse Sweatshirt’, in addition to seasonal hoodies and t-shirts in navy, green and red.
Meanwhile, the new Beastie Boys capsule collection consists of hoodies, sweats and tracksuits in black, grey and white - with images of the band from the time of ‘Hello Nasty’ being released, as well as iconography of the seminal album from 1998.
Champion’s first collaboration with the Beastie Boys on a limited-edition clothing collection came in November 2022, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s ‘Check Your Head’ album.
Hip-hop was born on the streets of the Bronx in New York in the 1970s and became a global phenomenon.
Champion claims to be an integral part of hip-hop culture, with its iconic ‘Reverse Weave’ hoodies, sweatshirts and basketball jerseys becoming staples in the hip-hop fashion scene.
