Fashion
LL Cool J Expands Rock The Bells Clothing Line With Gold Chain-Inspired Collection
The rap legend is celebrating hip hop culture with new line.
LL Cool J‘s reign is not showing any signs of slowing down. The rap legend has already conquered pretty much everything from music and acting to tech and serving as the face. Now, he has set his sights on his own fashion line named after his 1986 hit song, “Rock The Bells.”
After two succesful drops in January and June, including a limited edition Black Lives Matter t-shirt and hoodie collabo with Atlanta-based artist Alexander-John, he is back with a new collection.
This time, it’s all about the gold chains. The Chain Collection features a hoodie, t-shirts, jogger pants, varsity jacket, and duffel bag emblazoned with gold chain-inspired artwork.
LL Cool J teamed back up with Alexander-John to create the new looks. The concept came from their mutual desire to “bridge the gap between this generation and what LL was inspired by,” Alexander-John told WWD in an exclusive interview. Gold chains and chain-link jewelry resurfaced as a trend two years ago, extending beyond hip hop culture to runways and social media influencers.
“The chains are that synonymous thing — everybody understands getting their own custom jewelry made,” said Alexander-John. “I attacked it as an art form coming off graffiti and hip-hop with the chain representing that thing that a lot of rappers used to express their personal style and logos and what they stood for.”
In addition to new gear, Rock The Bells is also a digital platform celebrating the legends and impact of hip-hop culture and its four main elements: djs, emcees, graffiti, and breakdancing.
“The Rock the Bells platform is really just a work in progress, we’re going to take it to another level,” said LL Cool J. “Doing a collection like this, working with a young, talented designer who has insight into the culture and understands what we’re trying to do — that’s what this is about. I wanted to see him empowered. He’s been behind the scenes for many years doing great work for a lot of different brands and not necessarily getting as much credit as I think he could have gotten. It’s nice to take a young Black designer and say, ‘I’m in a position, I have a platform and you can go out there and shine.’”
The Chain Collection retails from $75 to $495 and is available now. Visit rockthebells.com to check out the full collection.
