For those who do it.

 Find your element

Four elements, one culture.

Hip-hop didn't arrive as music alone. It arrived as four disciplines, built at the same time, in the same place, by the same people. We make for all four, not just the ones that went platinum.
Black Selector Cap with PLAY IT FIRST. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Selector Cap

Selector Cap
$40.00
Black Bboy Bgirl Cap with GO LAST. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Bboy Bgirl Cap

Bboy Bgirl Cap
$40.00
Black Graffiti Cap with ALL CITY. handstyle embroidery on a concrete ledge

Graffiti Cap

Graffiti Cap
$40.00
Black Emcee Cap with EARN THE MIC. embroidery on a concrete ledge

Emcee Cap

Emcee Cap
$40.00

EST. 1973 · THE BRONX

FROM THE BX TO THE WORLD
August 11, 1973. A back-to-school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. DJ Kool Herc extended the break sections of funk records, and a culture was born in a borough the city had written off.
It reached every continent on earth. BX Originals honors where it started and serves the people carrying it forward... wherever they practice.
We know the history. We respect the craft. We build for practitioners.
 READ OUR STORY

Shorthand Series Caps

The machines, names, and numbers the culture speaks in...worn by people who don't need them spelled out.
Charcoal 808 Drum Machine Cap resting on a drum machine keyboard

808 Drum Machine Cap

808 Drum Machine Cap
$40.00
White 1520 Cap with black handstyle embroidery resting on a vintage chair

1520 Cap

1520 Cap
$40.00
White TAKI 183 Cap with black handstyle embroidery on a cinder block ledge

TAKI 183 Graffiti Cap

TAKI 183 Graffiti Cap
$40.00
Gray 1200 Turntable Cap resting on a turntable platter, seen from above

1200 Turntable Cap

1200 Turntable Cap
$40.00

Shadow Series Tees

The phrases, counts, and codes the culture keeps to itself…worn by people who don't need them any louder.
Close-up of the charcoal ALL CITY print on the black tee

All City Tee

All City Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal OFF THE DOME print on the black tee

Off the Dome Tee

Off the Dome Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal SIX STEP footwork diagram print on the black tee

Six Step Tee

Six Step Tee
$44.00
Close-up of the charcoal TWO COPIES print on the black tee

Two Copies Tee

Two Copies Tee
$44.00

The Flip

The words the culture invented and everybody borrowed…worn by people who know the front is only half of it.

 View all
Folded black Drop Tee showing THE DROP handstyle over charcoal Drop

The Drop Tee

The Drop Tee
$44.00
Folded black Repost Tee showing THE REPOST handstyle over charcoal Repost

The Repost Tee

The Repost Tee
$44.00
Folded black Flow Tee showing THE FLOW handstyle over charcoal Flow

The Flow Tee

The Flow Tee
$44.00
Folded black Loop Tee showing THE LOOP handstyle over charcoal Loop

The Loop Tee

The Loop Tee
$44.00

Bench Series Tees

The platforms, lines, and layups the culture ran on…worn by people who know what a bench was for.
The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee

The Last Car Tee
$44.00
The Layups Tee

The Layups Tee

The Layups Tee
$44.00
The Bench Tee

The Bench Tee

The Bench Tee
$44.00
The 2 and the 5 Tee

The 2 and the 5 Tee

The 2 and the 5 Tee
$44.00
The Vault

KNOWLEDGE IS THE FIFTH ELEMENT
Hip-hop has always taught itself. Those who knew shared with those learning — in cyphers and crews, on corners and in studios. The Vault continues that: history, technique, and craft across all four elements.
No paywall. No sign-up. Read everything.
 ENTER THE VAULT

Latest from The Vault

The W 183rd Street sign in Washington Heights — the street number TAKI 183 wrote across New York.

The Name Before the Username

You picked a name that isn't the one you were given. You use it in places where the given one would mean less. You ha...
125th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, Harlem — the block where Dapper Dan's Boutique operated from 1982 to 1992.

Cut on 125th Street: Dapper Dan and Who Owns a Look

For ten years there was a shop on 125th Street that sold clothes the luxury houses had never made. Not copies of thei...
A cassette tape with a hand-written label — the format hip-hop circulated on before there was a record industry for it.

Dubbed, Not Released: The Tape Economy Before the Record Deal

On July 3, 1981, two crews battled at Harlem World for a thousand dollars. Somebody recorded it. The tape moved hand ...