Hip-hop is about style; always has been and always will be. Exemplified in Mass Appeal editorial director Sacha Jenkins’s documentary, “Fresh Dressed” unfolds the one element of hip-hop’s story that often remains overlooked and discounted, even by hip-hop’s own elders: fashion. The film, co-produced by Nas and in partnership with CNN, takes a look at hip-hop’s history through its fashion lens and how it reflected a culture and lifestyle born from music. Ultimately the documentary hones in on the common denominator found throughout all the elements of hip-hop — in that even through its fashion, it’s more about the method, not the madness itself. Hip-hop’s fashion is less about what you wear, but more so on how you wear it; and it’s that very same expressive and self-empowered energy found in the music and culture, that when demonstrated through fashion, makes it a fifth element. The film includes interviews with key players in fashion, like Kanye West (of course,) Andre Leon Tally, Riccardo Tischi, Dapper Dan and Thurston Howell III. Look for “Fresh Dressed” to be released next year at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and to air on CNN.

Photo by: Jamel Shabazz