The Evolution of FUBU, the Legendary Black Sportswear Brand

FUBU was founded in 1992 by Daymond John, Keith Perrin, J. Alexander Martin and Carl Brown, four friends from Hollis, Queens. The founders sought to launch a line of sportswear rooted in hip-hop culture – something for us, by us.

FUBU is a brand that truly started from the bottom. Daymond John told The Root he had just $40 and a commitment to hustle hard when he and his co-founders started out.

“I had a phone available to me and I made 50 calls a day for six months – ten to a manufacturer, ten to a store, ten to a record label asking them to have their artists wear my stuff,” he said.

In the 1990s, some of the hottest rappers in the game were wearing FUBU. But it was L.L. Cool J who is credited with helping the brand achieve mainstream success, when he wore a FUBU hat in a GAP commercial.

“We couldn’t make enough product,” Daymond John said on X. “So the kids started going to the GAP for FUBU. GAP finds out almost three weeks later after the commercial is airing. They spent about 30 million dollars on this commercial. They pull the commercial, but then all of a sudden they find out the target market they were trying to hit increased 300 percent because the kids thought they could get FUBU at the GAP.”

FUBU may have been born in Queens, but its influence quickly spread across the country. Here, Juvenile and the Cash Money Crew are seen wearing FUBU from head to toe.

R&B group B2K wearing FUBU for a Word Up! Magazine photo shoot.

Usher can’t help but smile while wearing a FUBU baseball jersey.

Even Queen Bey was wearing the brand back in the day.

FUBU’s light dimmed a bit as other Black-owned brands chipped away at the market. But in October 2024, it made a major comeback with an epic runway show at Atlanta Fashion Week.

FUBU has always kept it’s finger on the pulse of style, while maintaining a connection with it’s New York City roots.

But don’t get it twisted, FUBU is not just sportswear. The brand also has a collection of stylish FUBU suits.

This year, the brand went to Broadway, teaming up with Alicia Keys’ hit musical “Hell’s Kitchen” to make a baseball jersey for the lead character, who is inspired by a young Alicia Keys growing up in New York City in the 1990s.

In 2018, the brand teamed up with Puma to honor the 50th anniversary of their iconic suede shoe. The FUBU X Puma capsule collection featured clothing and shoes in an updated version of the OG style.

The Atlanta Fashion Week runway show turned out fans of the brand in a major way and gave FUBU the chance to show that it still knows what’s hot in the streets.

“This collaboration with Atlanta Fashion Week marks a significant milestone for FUBU, bridging our iconic past with a vibrant future in fashion and beyond,” said Cecily Groves, VP of Brand Management and Licensing at FUBU.

Looking back on FUBU’s journey, Daymond John told The Root he is proud of how far the brand has come. And while it has embraced everyone from skaters to soccer moms, it will always have its roots in hip-hop and Black culture.

“FUBU is something that culturally is known as the first hashtag of clothing, and it has really gone way beyond what it was when it was a beautiful hip-hop brand created from the energy of African American males,” he said. “Now all of a sudden, FUBU stands for something much bigger.”