Streetwear Pioneer April Walker Previews Book on Hip-Hop Fashion Career

The woman who dressed Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. is writing down how she did it.

April Walker, the founder of Walker Wear and a streetwear pioneer, previewed her upcoming book at the 2026 Black Footwear Forum in Detroit. The trade publication WWD reported the preview on 15 September in a story by reporter Jaden Thompson headlined “April Walker Dressed Tupac and Biggie. Now She’s Telling Her Story.”

Walker’s business in clothing started in 1987 with Fashion in Effect, a customised boutique in Brooklyn, New York. She launched Walker Wear, her own streetwear label — casual clothing shaped by hip-hop, sport and skate culture — in 1990. Pieces from the label were worn by Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G.

Her book is tentatively titled “Necessary Rebel: A Trailblazer’s Blueprint” and is due out in September 2027. Walker described it as a blueprint for perseverance, creativity and ownership in spaces not originally designed for inclusion. According to WWD, it covers creativity, ownership and building a business as a Black woman.

The preview came at the seventh annual Black Footwear Forum, a gathering for Black professionals in the shoe trade, held in Detroit on 10–13 September, according to PR Newswire. Walker knows the event well. She was listed as a guest speaker and panellist at an earlier edition in 2023, and she attended the 2025 forum in Detroit alongside rapper Roxanne Shante.

More is planned for next year. In September 2027, Walker will be featured in an exhibit on street style at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, the music and popular-culture museum. Walker, who is from Brooklyn, also works as an educator, according to BridgeDetroit.

For fans, this means two dates to note. The book arrives in September 2027. The Seattle exhibit opens that same month.