Streetwear is said to have emerged from neighborhoods rather than fashion designers and is often associated with hip hop and skateboarding culture. It's an unorthodox aesthetic rooted in unapologetically dressing outside the box with an ironic cult following.

Where it was once deemed an underground movement and subculture hell bent on rejecting a number of ideologies, today it has become synonymous with being fashionably cool. Gone are the days of old-world thinking—today's fashion houses often borrow their ideas straight from the "streets."

Consumers are flocking to retailers for graphic-adorned hoodies, tees, sneakers, jackets, sweats and bags and the African diaspora isn't immune to this scurry. We are unarguably the cause of this shift in culture.

The evolution of this lawless fashion form is rooted in an appreciation for originators Karl Kani, Ecko, FUBU, Sean John, Phat Farm, Rocawear, and G-Unit clothing. These brands are the blueprint for their predecessors Stussy, Supreme, Bathing Ape, Hood By Air, Vetements, Off-White, Heron Preston and Fear of God, to name a few.

The lines have been blurred. Streetwear aficionados are as much the elite as they are cool kids.

Dig into our list of 16 African streetwear brands you should keep on your radar.