March 26, 2006
Bathing Ape Gear in Full Effect on Lil Wayne

Rap star Lil Wayne appears dressed head to toe in "A Bathing Ape" (BAPE) gear on the latest cover of hip-hop magazine Vibe. The heavily tatted Houston hip-hop veteran sports the usual array of pink and aqua camoflage-designed gear popularized in Japan by BAPE designer Nigo. Personally, we like the massive BAPE belt buckle Lil Wayne has on. Not everyone can rock a buckle like that. So much BAPE gear on a Vibe mag cover is just further evidence of BAPE's full-on embrace by (or is it "conquering of?") of America's mainstream hip-hop culture. And it's proof that Nigo's brilliant under-the-radar marketing strategy -- like music and style -- plays on a transcultural level.
Posted by Thurston Ali at March 26, 2006 02:01 PM










