Dapper Dan talks Trump, Reagan, rap’s drug culture and the bullet in his neck

The fashion icon Dapper Dan emerged from the crack epidemic, gang violence and the polarized politics of 1970s Harlem to build a globally recognized brand – only to watch fashion corporations tear it down. Then Dan reemerged with even more success through an incredible turn of events in 2017, and is now recognized as a fashion superstar working with everyone from Beyonce to Gucci to Anna Wintour, and drawing praise from multiple generations of fashion, music and culture, from The Fat Boys and LL Cool J to Jay Z and Nas to Pusha T. The report adds vital context to the unusual story of this American icon, and is followed by an interview with Dapper Dan himself, who recounts the bullet in his neck, the glorification of drugs in American culture and the complexities of mass incarceration and the drug war.July 19, 2019