Geek Chic Is Back

When we think about the evolution of hip hop, we're guessing one of the last things that comes to mind is a blinking cursor. This new collaboration from Microsoft and hip-hopper Common has us trying them both on for size -- literally. This spring sees the debut of Softwear by Microsoft, a vivid line of T-shirts emblazoned with the typical iconography of early operating systems and other visual nods to the origin of the computer age, including, of course, an actual picture of the Don himself, Bill Gates as a squeeky, geeky, trouble-making adolescent.

Other designs feature the classic green screen and DOS logo. In an age where people seem to learn more from messages broadcast on t-shirts than textbooks, we can’t think of a better time to see such a collaboration, and looping the uncommon talents of such a hip-hop revolutionary into the mix makes as much sense as ctrl+alt+delete on a bad day.