From language and rhythm to art, technology and politics, hip-hop’s influence on pop culture has been — and continues to be — enormous. In many ways, hip-hop culture is American culture, an aesthetic that has been exported worldwide in the five decades since DJ Kool Herc held his first hip-hop party at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the Bronx on Aug. 11, 1973.

Its power is perhaps most visible through fashion, where the personal styles of hip-hop’s biggest emcees have helped to shape fashion choices from all walks of life, from the mass market to the hallowed couture houses of Paris.

Through footwear, more specifically, hip-hop has found an outlet of artistic cultivation, connoisseurship and creative collaboration. The result is a shoe (the ubiquitous sneaker — but also the boot, the heel or Cardi B’s infamous “bloody shoes”) that serves as an objet d’art, a status symbol or part of a daily uniform. Sometimes, it’s all three.

Over the past 50 years, many hip-hop artists have had an outsized influence on fashion and footwear (including cover stars Fat Joe and Remy Ma).

Below is a list of 50 power figures — unranked — that have been curated with help from a special advisory council including June Ambrose, Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo, Terrell Jones, Set Free Richardson, Dante Ross, Lenny Santiago and April Walker. Qualifications for list entries include: artists with major shoe deals or collaborations; artists whose music/lyrics directly referenced or influenced footwear and fashion; artists who are major collectors; and artists whose personal styles, shoe choices or proximity to fashion and footwear have influenced hip hop and pop cultures at large.

Reading through the list, you might notice a bold-faced name conspicuously missing: Kanye West. While the music artist has unquestionably had a massive influence on footwear and fashion (and could easily sit atop this list), a celebration of West amidst ongoing fallout from various hate speech incidents (including his Paris Fashion Week showing last fall) feels inappropriate for the time being. Whether the multi-hyphenate will be able to redeem himself in the eyes of the public remains to be seen.

Run-D.M.C.

“I was 12 or 13 at Madison Square Garden when Run-D.M.C. performed. Run took off his Adidas sneaker, held it in the air and 15,000 or 16,000 people also held their Adidas in the air. I promise you, probably 90 percent of the people in that place had on Adidas. At the time being young, I could only afford so many pairs. Adidas, back then, was a mandatory thing. This let us know what was possible, like, you can be a non-athlete and be cool, have great talent in music, know how to shift culture and get a sneaker deal. That was a big deal to me. Run-D.M.C. had two or three staple outfits. The denim suit with the Lee jeans and denim jacket, fedora hat and Adidas [Superstars]. If it was a tracksuit, it was Adidas. The Adidas [Superstar] was the foundation, their preferred footwear choice with laces, without laces. How could you make a sneaker popular without even putting the laces in them?”— Lenny Santiago, SVP, Roc Nation, on Run-D.M.C.’s lasting influence on footwear and fashion, starting with Adidas Superstar sneaker.

Pharrell Williams

“Pharrell Williams is the most influential hip-hop artist to ever involve himself in footwear, fashion, lifestyle, culture. The reason he’s unmatched is the impact he’s had across every sector of lifestyle culture. He started with an apparel brand, then a footwear deal, then his own brand of footwear, then collaborating with footwear brands like Adidas, then being the creative director of a fashion house like Louis Vuitton. His staple footwear moment would be introducing Bape and Japanese luxury to the sneaker market. At the time he had his deal with Rbk [Reebok’s sportswear brand], he was visionary enough to bring in other creatives. This is something that footwear companies weren’t doing at the time. They had a bunch of brand ambassadors, including Jay-Z and 50 Cent, but Pharrell was the only one who had the foresight to bring in a creative director outside of his realm, Nigo, and this is where the Ice Cream sneaker came from. That was so far ahead of its time. That led to Bapes becoming the most sought-after thing in streetwear culture footwear-wise from 2005 to 2010. It’s been an avalanche from there.”— Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo, CEO, The Vandal Group

Missy Elliott

“Everything Missy wore had to be tied back to a sneaker. When I first started working with her, it was all about finding the most nostalgic footwear pieces. I remember using the Puma California sneaker in the music video for ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly).’ Missy is a collector of sneakers, so at the time, to find something that was super retro but edgy and new and fresh — because we were bringing it back — became a classic again. It was that one scene where she is on the hill, in this customized leather jogging suit that I designed for her. It was mint green with the matching California sneakers to go with it. And I remember after that video people started saying ‘Ooh! That retro California Puma! I’m going to bring those back.’ That’s how things worked in hip-hop culture. We would feed off each other. It became sport, to find what was not being used and reimagine it.” —June Ambrose, Costume Designer & Creative Director, Women’s Hoops, Puma

Slick Rick

“Rick intercepted the sneaker world. Back in the day, [his record label home] Def Jam was on fire and that’s when sneaker culture was just starting. Everybody’s wearing Nike, Adidas, Lotto, Le Coq Sportif, Spot Bilt — so many brands. Rick came with the Clarks Wallabee. This guy is from the U.K. and he had a fly style. I was like, ‘What shoes are those?’ If you wanted a break from the sneaker world, Wallys became the go-to. Back in the day, we had Vasque boots, there was Hi-Tec and Timberland, but there weren’t too many shoes. You either wanted sneakers or to be rugged and raw in a boot. But Wallys were this half-sneaker feel, half-boot feel. And to see Rick with them and the chains and the furs, I was like, ‘I need to get those into my repertoire.’”— Set Free Richardson, creative director, The Compound

Travis Scott

“He’s so passionate about music, about production, about artistry, and that bleeds onto everything else. That transfers into the Nike/Jordan deal. What an impact that was, turning the check around [reversing the brand’s swoosh logo]. Such a simple thing that was explosive. Once you do something that’s so innovative, that’s so dope, that’s so creative, that lasts so long and you can do 100 colorways. Whether he’s doing an Air Force 1 or Air Max or a Jordan, he always cracks it, he never misses. Doing things like Christian Dior collabs, everybody can’t pull these things off. He has a big influence on the culture and on footwear in general. I see a Travis sneaker every day, at least. That check turned around was one of the most simple but innovative things somebody has done to a sneaker.”— Lenny Santiago

Cardi B

“She reminded the culture that being innovative matters. She was so New York and so hip-hop in that sense where she wasn’t trying to be in the same stuff that anyone was wearing. You can’t say Cardi and fashion without mentioning Kollin Carter, who is a visionary behind her style, then and now. They would find these designers, find these tailors and help them to get big breaks in their careers. It’s about the custom looks, even down to the shoes. When she did her Reebok deal, I remember taking photos of her at Summer Jam in 2019 and she had the bedazzled yellow Reeboks. That’s just one example of the kind of custom, unique, authentic energy that she’s always put out.”—Flo Ngala, photographer

DJ Clark Kent

“His passion for kicks culture has always been authentic. Clark Kent is from the early days, and he’s had such staying power. He’s been a tastemaker when it comes to kicks. His passion for sneakers has always been consistent, his voice has always been consistent, and you feel his authenticity. That energy creates confirmation in the culture, in the kick game. He has served and consulted companies, and if you look at his social media game, we can all see how passionate he is and lends his voice to what he believes in for sneakers. That authenticity will always be the staying power. And the Air Force 1, it has just stood the test of time, and I give Clark credit for amplifying it. There are so many people who wear Air Force 1s, but Clark, it’s part of his uniform.”— April Walker, founder, Walker Wear

DJ Clark Kent shot for FN. COURTESY OF JONATHAN MANNION/FN

Pusha T

“For anybody paying attention to lyrics, Pusha T was the Pablo Picasso of name-dropping brands. He was saying Lanvin before people knew what Lanvin was. Bottega, Loewe, Bode — the brands that are relevant now — Pusha was the first rapping about them. But it’s not just about name dropping. When you hear a Pusha record, you understand the entire lifestyle. He’s walking and debuting music at a Louis Vuitton fashion show. You don’t see rappers doing that. He’s had an Adidas contract for eight years, dropped six shoes, styled maybe nine silhouettes, is about to drop another division, had a strong hand in developing and pushing the Yeezy and the Humanrace brands. He’s consistently set silhouettes up for Adidas. If you look back at the EQT series, Pusha brought that back. There was not a cross-training lifestyle sector for Adidas at that time. When he dropped the first EQT, white Italian cracked leather on a luxe leather-wrapped vamp, waxed laces and the Pyrex packaging, the shoe sold out instantly and went for double on the resale market. A lot of artists have footwear deals and they keep it pushing after a season or two. Pusha has been with Adidas for eight years.” — Mike “Upscale Vandal” Camargo

Mary J. Blige

“The ‘Queen of Hip-Hop Soul,’ Mary J. Blige, is also the queen of high boots. Mary reigns when it comes to rocking the best designer boots created. Mary’s impact both on and off the stage is unmatched as she’s been a huge influence for many other celebrities and fans worldwide. One of my favorite Mary boot moments was her 2022 Super Bowl performance, when she rocked a custom over-the-knee boot by Dundas as only Mary could, jumping up and down with ease as if it had the comfort of a classic [Nike] Air Max 95. That was enough to inspire every woman watching that. Women are superheroes.” — Terrell Jones, stylist

Busta Rhymes

“When I was working on the music video ‘Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See,’ I custom designed every piece he wore, including the footwear. I did this custom lamé robe, and I had this idea to do a customized matching shoe, like any proper woman would do. I was really playing with gender fluidity and I loved the idea that we were re-designing something that was so eccentric with something that was so tough. When you thought about what was the toughest shoe you could wear at that time on the streets, it was the Timberland [boot]. I brought the shoe to a cobbler and said, ‘I need you to take these boots apart and cover them in this lamé fabric.’ As we came back with more pairs, the price went up because he realized that this was something that was going to catch on. We really opened a can of worms. After that video, Busta would not go on stage without the matching Timberlands to every customized look. It was disruptive and sexy and provocative and very hip-hop.” — June Ambrose