FashionIncomingListing every brand Jay Z has ever rapped aboutFrom Reebok to Rolex, Katherine Bernard charted every fashion namedrop in the rap God's twenty-year oeuvre for her 'Art as Wrench' projectShareLink copied ✔️November 18, 2014FashionIncomingTextEmma Hope Allwood Dazed contributor Katherine Bernard has got 99 problems, but methodically analysing the lyrics of Jay Z is no longer one (sorry, not sorry). After breaking down the overall prevalence of fashion brands in rap earlier this year, her project 'Art as Wrench' (an anagram of Shawn Carter, obviously) went deeper into the rabbit hole. Bernard looked through his discography chronologically, and with some help from friend, data engineer and creator of cool internet art Fred Benenson, charted the lyric, the type of fashion item, the album, the year, the song title, any guest artists, and whether Jay was referencing clothing on men or women – “It may not seem like it, but I do in fact have a social life,” she insists. The writer then arranged every fashion name drop into a tidy square, “which all together reads like a symbolic autobiography.” Launching today on Kickstarter with a series of limited edition prints and a t-shirt, the project is “about exploring an artist's evolution – his taste timeline,” she says, but it's not a simple progression from Reebok and Rocawear to Givenchy and Gucci – Benetton and Yankee caps get name drops as late as 2009's The Blueprint 3. “I don't think rappers are commenting on fashion – it's not something they are observing, they are influencing it,” says Bernard. “The most surprising thing is probably how much the list of brands becomes a narrative as you read it.” As for who's next? You'll have to work it out... “His name has the perfect anagram: Swanky Tee.” See the likes of #BEENTRILL#'s Heron Preston, Vogue's Lynn Yaeger and a chicken called Beyoncé get to grips with the t-shirt below: Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MOREMasters of Light: The history of Hollywood in six Swarovski iconsIn pictures: See the best dressed stars at the 2025 CFDA Awards vansVans invites misfits home for the holidays From the archive: Remembering Antwerp Six designer Marina YeeWhat went down at The North Face x Cecilie Bahnsen collection launchNo one is doing red carpet fashion like Teyana Taylor‘Gay Halloween’ is back – here are this year’s standout looksMartine Rose ups her game with a new Nike collabPut me in Chanel: The 25 best songs named after fashion brandsBianca Saunders teams up with the Tate for Blake-inspired collectionCult icon John Malkovich is the new face of JW AndersonShawna Wu’s designs loop and knot between past and present