I Wear It For Hip-Hop

[Originally posted on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 11:26am]


I’m back. I’ve had a very eventful week since the last post. I think I should write a book or some shit. At least then I’d know I’m getting paid for sitting down and writing something one never really knows if people actually read; unlike these damn blogs, lol. Maybe after my 100th blog I’ll put them all together in a book-like format. Problem is, who the hell would want to buy/read stuff that I already shared for free here on Facebook/blogspot.com? I for one would want to read it. I feel like I’ve become a big fan of my blogs. Arrogance aside, I honestly can’t wait to get this one done and read it from the top. I love reading them, maybe that’s the sick, selfish, subconscious reason why I do this. Speaking of what I love, today I want to comment on the current connection between hip-hop and fashion. Welcome to Part 5.

Now let’s do a bit of a back track on hip-hop and fashion for a minute. The earliest reference of fashion in the hip-hop culture always brings up the Adidas sweatpants tracksuits. The type that Run-DMC and them introduced to the world. Since these guys are like the true fathers of hip-hop as we know it, the whole 3-striped outfit caught on fast. Hip-hop has been alive and breathing for like 30 years now, and to this day peeps still rock the famous Adidas joints. I noticed DMC (whose one of the members of the legendary group) endorsing Adidas in their current advertising campaign. This dress code was also linked with gold-link medallion jewellery, Kangol bucket hats and huge transparent-lense Ray-Bans that I’m starting to see all over again these days; (not that I was there 30 years ago to see them but you know what I mean). Everyone knows that fashion works in cycles, so if a dude rocked that stuff today it wouldn’t look out of place at all. I think. From the early ‘80s to now, hip-hop fashion took a lot swerves and turns to what we have today. I feel as if the hip-hop culture influenced the dressing part of it so much that hip-hop fans have always been ‘loyal’ to the hip-hop look; unlike house cats or some shit (do they even have a dress-style?). Even though there’s the standard ‘sag-your-pants’ side of hip-hop, the clothing part of it has gone through a lot of changes since the Run-DMC days. Remember the mustard Timberland boots era? The Karl Kani era? The Wu-Tang military camouflage attire era? The shiny Puff Daddy and Ma$e era? Or what about the Kriss Kross front-to-back era? And then came Pac & Biggie with the Italian designer labels. All they did was mention them in their raps, next thing you know dudes were saving up for Versace loafers. I for one haven’t been able to afford those yet, lol. Besides, I’m South African; a Maftowner at that. I came up in the era when people dissed you for wearing anything hip-hopish. ‘Ha se mo States mo!’. Remember that line? Now all of a sudden its cool. Mxm.

Fast-forward to 2009, and what do we have? We have a mixture of everything into one style. Well, sort-of. I think we’re starting to bite from the rockers nowadays. The BAPE-era that Pharell and Nico introduced a few years back was very successful, and it still is. The difference with this current era is that some of the clothes that are considered ‘cool’ these days get a lot of mixed reactions, mainly from old-school hip-hoppers. Case-in-point: skinny jeans. As much as I love fashion, hip-hop, and hip-hop fashion; I can’t say I’ve agreed (or wore) everything that has come with the culture in the past. Difference is, these days it’s much more easier to say ‘Fuck it I don’t care if my favourite rapper wears that stuff, I won’t!’. I’m starting to see rap fans rocking skinny jeans from left to right. This is more proof that the rap fashion sense is jacking the rock rap sense. Correct me if I’m wrong, but when you see a white dude rocking skinny jeans, it seems normal, I guess. They’ve been wearing them as far as I can remember, especially the punk rockers. I was watching the X-Games one time and every competitor was rocking them. But when you see a black dude wearing them, you start making conclusions about them. If you turn back the hands of time to let’s say 2000, you wouldn’t be called ‘hip-hop’ if you were on stage wearing skinny jeans spitting tight punchlines, you’d be called gay. Hip-hop has always been associated with the macho bravado. Freedom of speech at its fullest. ‘Fuck the world’. You know what I mean? So why can’t there be freedom of expression? On some ‘Fuck y’all I’ma wear this pink scarf cause honeys dig it’.

But I digress.

Nowadays, it’s become too ‘safe’ to wear anything you like. I don’t have a problem with people wearing what they desire, it’s their business. It just makes it harder for me to defend hip-hop when the number one rapper in the world is being called ‘gay’ because of what he wears. These same people forget that back in the 80’s, dudes were wearing tight clothing too, and no one gave a fuck. When Michael Jackson did the Thriller album back in 1983, he became a phenomenon worldwide. Not only because of the music. Not only because he was talented. But also because of his dress style. No one was rocking what MJ was rocking back then, but your parents as well as their parents loved him to bits; and they wore what he wore. But when Kanye, Lupe or Wayne wear out-of-the-box stuff in 2009 all of a sudden their fags? Remember when Cam’ron had the whole New York wearing pink? People attacked his sexuality for that. The funny part is these dudes are probably balls-deep in model chicks while y’all say that about them, lol. It doesn’t mean I agree with everything they wear, I just decided to stop caring on what I wouldn’t wear. Rather concentrate on what you WOULD wear. I wouldn’t wear skinny jeans because the shit looks very uncomfortable. I’d rather let stuff hang you know? Okay, maybe that was too much information. I apologize.

Now we’ve got the (annoying) ‘arab scarfs’, the high-top sneekers (I love those), the 1980’s MJ leather jackets (dope) and the vintage shades (both aviators and the Ray-Bans). Oh yeah, who could forget the darn Mohawk. I’d rather just wait for another 5 years in these baggy Levi’s 516 jeans for a new fashion. I’m comfortable. Happy Friday you Yentas!