Hip-Hop is the coolest looking lifestyle on the planet if done right. The cooler one looks the more he can inspire others to do what they do. There’s always been one area of the world that stood out amongst the rest in regards to getting fly, looking cool and setting fashion trends. That place is Harlem, New York.

You’ll be hard pressed to find another section of the world, who has a collective of people flyer than who I’m about to name. No coincidence they are all from Harlem and all have high impact factor beyond their primary hustle.

Puff Daddy: No one has made hip-hop or rapping look as cool as Sean Puffy Combs and he’s not even a “real emcee”. However, the images, the Sean John suits, the ladies, the lifestyle it all culminates into a package that everyone wants to buy into. Puffy/Diddy will always win because no matter what walk of life you are experiencing, you want to get where he’s at.

Dame Dash: Roc-A-Fella was probably the flyest group of grimey dudes in hip-hop ever when the 2000’s hit. Dame Dash is responsible for that. Being honest with ourselves, Jay hasn’t wore anything we wanted to wear or purchase since the Roc broke up. Then when he tried to get Timbs out of here, I knew he was bugging and not the source behind his once polarizing appearance. Ultimate Hustler rule number 1 is always be Fresh To Death, right? Well, Dame Dash told you that.

Cam’ron and Dipset: Cam is honestly a hip-hop fashion icon. Cam had dudes willing to buy women’s shoes because they were Pink and White. I remember because I worked at Champs and had to explain sizing every day. Many may do more laughing at Cam’s rhymes but you can’t deny the Dipeset Engine was fueled by his brand, which was different from Santana’s who was different from Jim Jones, but all stayed exponentially fly and stood out. That Dipset Eagle is still one of the most recognizable images in hip-hop today and they are only spoken about on occasion.

A$AP Mob: Although they get these jokes in the form of memes on the internet, the A$AP Mob stay getting W’s in the fashion department. Rocky and Ferg are literally students of the fashion game that know how to rap. They don’t set the “polarizing trends” today but I think that’s by choice. I don’t think they want the world dressing like them and that in itself makes them flyer than most, because you don’t even know where to go to get what they got. You don’t really hear them rapping about stores or what pieces they buy outside of the standard “Gucci Bars” that rappers spit just because. I’m looking for that jacket Ferg wore on the breakfast club right now. I pray it’s not $3,000.

Who else stays fly and from Harlem? Doug E. Fresh, Ma$e and Vado. Harlem also had inspiration from the notorious drug dealers that ran the 80’s. Street Legends that pushed work but looked great doing it. It’s literally in the DNA of the city, no matter what walk of life.

The people above used their own personal brands to catapult movies, music, liquor and even other people to success. That’s hard to accomplish even if you have a lot of money to spend. You have to be pretty cool to get people to listen to you. You have to have some substance to get them to listen again. When you tap into their decision making and appearance, that’s when you run things on a whole different level. No one does that like Harlem. Salute to Harlem. The Reason Hip-Hop stays fly.