The hip-hop culture that grew in the 1970s, primarily in the South Bronx area of New York city, encompassed graffiti art, break dancing, rap music, and fashion. It soon went on to become the dominant cultural movement of the streets, and fashion came to play a significant part in the movement.

Hip-hop is more than just music; it is an entire culture, and hip-hop clothing was but a natural development. Graffiti inspired artwork is a large part of hip-hop clothing, mostly tees, and there is a wide variety of hip-hop tees for people who feel the part.

In the 1990s and to date, many hip-hop artists and executives even launched their own fashion labels and clothing lines. Some of the more popular hip hop tees are available at G-Unit, Sean John, Mecca, Phat Farm, Baby Phat, Rocawear, Dereon, Girbaud, LRG, Southpole and others.

A distinctive feature of hip-hop t-shirts is that hip-hop artists are painted on the fronts. Other tees may include graffiti, itself an element of the hip-hop culture. For the discerning hip-hop t-shirt collector, the choice of having tees air-brushed or custom made is always present. Scores of websites offer to air-brush your very own hip-hop t-shirts, with your favorite hip-hop stars. Another characteristic of hip-hop tees is that the shirts are really tall, and mostly oversized, going down to the wearer’s knees.

T-shirt manufacturers have introduced 7XL to up to 10XL to keep up with the demand for tall hip-hop tees. The reasons for the tall tees are many. Style gurus claim that wearing the long, baggy garment is a way of making a statement. Hip-hop fans show as much allegiance to "the look" as do hip-hop artists, and the tall tee hip-hop tee shows no sign of going out, despite its many haters. The tee is cheap enough for the youth to be extravagant about it, and buy several at a time rather than just one.

Clearly the hip-hop tee is much more than a garment. It is a statement, an attitude, and part of the entire street movement. It is often even a social or a political comment. It is inspired by the music, but it goes on to inspire the music again. And like the culture, the style is participatory too, with more and more people designing their own hip-hop or tall tees online.

So if you have it in you, go get your own hip-hop tee, or better still, style your own hip-hop tee. Wear your statement out loud and tall!