Tired of the Bullshit

The state of hip-hop has been an ongoing topic in the African-American community within the last decade. Hip Hop heavy hitters have produced hundreds of symposiums, conventions, conferences, lectures, panels, interviews, and whatever other types of discussion groups one can think of to initiate the conversation on “the state of hip-hop.” The most current consensus from those who are directly involved in the industry (the artists) is that maybe, for some individuals, art is more important than commerce. The Village Voice’s Tom Breihan, in an article on December 3, 2007, entitled Why Do Rappers Keep Quitting, presents the argument that many rappers, such as Saigon, feel freedom of speech and expression far outweigh the “bullshit” of the music industry. By “bullshit” Saigon—and Breihan as well, are referring to the censorship, judgment, and criticism that almost all rappers receive if their music contains political, social or cultural ideas that stand oppositional to mainstream America’s popular agenda. Breihan seems intent on reproaching rappers who are considering making an exit out of the rap game such as: Saigon and Lupe Fiasco. However, when individuals who, according to Breihan, haven’t produced enough music to become accessible or knowledgeable to the majority of their potential fans, start to second guess their validity and influence in an industry that they feel is against them, then maybe it’s a clear sign that something is wrong. How can a rich and influential form of expression such as rap continue to survive by admonishing its most promising and pure creators? It appears that Breihan represents the very essence of why these artists are quitting the rap game. When artists express discontent or frustration with the status quo of hip-hop, the industry quickly silences them, or presents them as disrespectful of the sources of their fame and success. They lack any sort of moral support from the hip-hop community if their opinions and sentiments fail to represent the traditional practices of the form. Ultimately, Breihan questions that if the hip-ness of the rapper in hip-hop has passed and the music industry has no room or tolerance for them, then what’s the point? The point is that artists have the right to voice their grievances, and they equally have the right to choose to not participate in a system that is ambiguous and propagandistic.

Identity Through Language

If communication is considered an exchange of information between individuals through some sort of medium then, next to appearance and dress, language could very well be the most important and descriptive quality of an individual’s personality and character. In everyday realistic interaction, we use language as a primary source for communicating our thoughts and ideas. Thus language can play a critical role in how others form perceptions about us. More importantly, others can form both positive and negative stereotypes about individuals by evaluating their linguistic sophistication. After reading Paul Beatty’s novel Tuff, the language and linguistic choices compelled me to question what ideas and goals Beatty was attempting to achieve. The book also incited questions about what type of image (whether true or not) that hip-hop language affords the African-American culture. How are African-Americans perceived through language on a national level? And, if there are works of art including: paintings, sculptures, music and literature that perpetuate the negative stereotypes of a particular culturally specific linguistic choice, how should one go about evaluating these works? Are they merely representative of the culture itself or are they as much of a problem as we consider negative digital images or photographs—or any demeaning cultural depiction?

Redefining Iconic

Throughout American history, blacks have always taken mainstream dress and style and changed it to fit their own interpretations of “American-ness.” Generally, blacks have often been left out of the equation when America has defined itself. However, dress and cultural aesthetic seems to be one of the many social aspects of American society where African-Americans feel they are allowed—though with some opposition—to express themselves culturally. The hip-hop style of dress has very unique qualities which seem to be rooted in a type of oppositional or antagonistic expression. There are many “American” classics or “icons” that African Americans have reformulated and styled to reflect their own cultural values. For instance, consider the American icon: the baseball cap. Introduced in 1954 by the New Era Company, the baseball cap, as a practical solution, was worn with the bill turned forward intending to protect baseball players from the glare of the sun. The cap was far from the American fashion icon that is instantaneously recognized in contemporary popular culture. Within thirty years (the early 1980’s) America’s very on democratic fashion accessory had been adopted on a popular scale to express not only the love for baseball as an American past time, but to also express a national quality of democracy and collectivity. Contemporarily, we see baseball camps on individuals of all ages and ethnicities. More noticeable than any other cultural group, hip-hop or African-American culture has largely adopted the baseball cap as a staple accessory in its style vocabulary. Rather than wear the hat as its American counterparts have, the hip-hop culture has created its own definition of style. As a sort of improvisational gesture, hip hoppers wear their hats turned backwards, and generally leave the bill flattened. This look is distinctly different from the way the baseball cap was intended to be worn or how others had traditionally styled the accessory. More interestingly, hip hop dressers seem to embody the true essence of American-ness by suggesting one of the nation’s most valued principles—capitalism. In styling the baseball cap by leaving the manufacturer tags and stickers on, these individuals seem to be commenting on the idea of authenticity and legitimacy which have been at the core of hip-hop dress and expression since its inception, and which are also concepts that appear significantly American. Yet, the hip hop style of dress seems to have found a way to incorporate inherent American ideas into its aesthetic while at the simultaneously rejecting any substantial ties with mainstream American dress and style, making the national icon a powerful tool in communicating a national cultural identity that seems both contradictory and inclusive.

Through the baseball cap the hip hop culture has exemplified the true characteristic of improvisation and appropriation. These ideas have been beneficial to both American culture and economics. Popular culture, being largely interested in hip-hop dress, has began to adopt not only the hip hop way of wearing the iconic baseball cap, but it has become more inclusive in the idea of who influences American popular culture.

The Current State of Female Dress

Beyoncé Knowle’s House of Deréon, Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B, Jennifer Lopez’s J.Lo and Kimora Lee-Simmon’s Baby Phat lines are all clothing companies that have contemporarily dictated the fashions, styles, and dress of the American hip-hop female. Their lines are giving the female hip-hop community a more feminine, sexualized, and sometimes overtly provocative image--most abundantly through the video vixen. These “video models,” if you will, are presented as over sexualized bodies in hip-hop cinema and music videos. Through the styles of the previously mentioned celebrity brands these models have a significant influence on trends for females in the hip-hop community. In the 1980’s, even though they didn’t have their own clothing lines, female rappers such as Salt-n-Peppa, Queen Latifah, and Monie Love presented hip-hop culture with their own take on style and dress. They wore large letterman jackets, body suits, flat boots, gold twisted chains, and African inspired hats all in vibrant colors. And, even if they look somewhat silly to contemporary eyes, the style was definitive and significant to the black female image—in a positive way. The video girls appear to have taken the mic from female rappers and hip-hop artists when dress and style are concerned. Arguably the only celebrity female rapper who has ventured into fashion would be Eve with her Fetish clothing line launched in 2003. And even Fetish has had problems with the collaboration between Eve and the INNOVO Group, which produces and distributes the celebrity’s clothing brand.

Born out of a predominately male youth culture, it is no surprise that hip-hop’s dress and style was exceedingly rooted in the masculine. Now, instead of relying on the appropriation of established brands artists have become successful enough to start their own labels for the culture. Sean “P.Diddy” Combs and Sean “Jay-Z” Carter are two artists who are dominant players in the fashion and style game of hip-hop culture. In 1976, the street style of the Bronx evolved out of necessity rather than complete excess. B-Boys and Fly-girls wore clothing that complimented their gymnastic-like dance moves requiring floor work like head spins and flips. In the early 1980’s their aesthetic became both practical and casual, with the emergence of major label brands such as: Adidas--for its vividly colored track suits, Cross Colors’ multi-colored denim suits, Pelle- Pelle, Marithé Francois Girbaud both epitomizing the baggy denim ensembles worn by hip-hoppers. Instead of the female artists directly influencing the way female hip-hop fans dress, labels and video vixen are becoming the standards. However, with the 60's mod style of dress becoming more and more trendy, one can only hope that tight spandex leggings begin to morph into full on figure hugging body suits.

Black Bar Behavior

Within the last few years, hip-hop has taken a hell of a beating on college campuses and towns from bar and club owners attempting to censor true hip hop dress and culture by establishing dress codes and allocating hip- hop one night of recognition. Owners claim their efforts are implemented to increase safety in these public places and to cut crime. However, most bars have specifically prohibited long or over sized garments, including: large hooded jackets, baggy denim, sports jerseys, baseball caps, and shades. The security measures seem to single out black males—the main group of individuals who commonly wear these types of clothing. These types of dress are too indicative of the aggressive black male stereotype continually perpetuated in the media, largely through music videos and news stories. So, it seems the censorship of hip hop in this context is an attempt to control the racial composition of bar and club crowds alluding to age old stereotypes about black groups and their behavior. Large gatherings of black have long been an issue for American society since the beginning of slavery, and hundreds of years later, the hip-hop culture is experiencing its remnants. Both urban and hip-hop dress and rap/hip hop music is largely associated with black audiences. By using safety codes to marginalize groups it seems these establishments are practicing underhanded form of deliberate racism that has gone unchallenged. The cultural range at most bars continues to remain stagnant as most races and ethnicities decide to socialize in segregated groups. And with the music selection and availability in bars and night clubs greatly influencing its dominant patron(races),we can most likely count on maintaining a largely segregated college nightlife—at least for the majority of the week.

The Tall T and Black Masculinity

Since Andre 3000 of Outcast made his appearance on DJ Unk’s Walk it Out remix and suggested that hip- hop’s dressers edit the proportions of their t -shirts (tall t’s), a surprisingly large number of hip-hoppers have taken heed to the influential rapper and nationally recognized style icon. Although André may have a valid point when he states that the hip- hop version of the t-shirt appears more appropriate to sleepwear, I would like to discuss the stigma that is associated with culturally appropriated style in American society and more specifically in American popular culture.

The excerpt from André’s verses on the Walk it Out Remix pertaining to the tall t follows as such:

Your white tee well to me looks like a nightgown
Make ya momma proud take that thing two sizes down
Then you like the the man that you are or what you could be

André 3000, “Walk it Out (Remix)”

André criticizes the tall tee for being over sized and personally reminding him of sleepwear, which immediately removes any sense of originality or style from the hip- hop version of the American classic. He addresses the notion of the tall tee as directly offensive to black social and familial values by referring to black maternal appreciation of dress and appearance. Most significantly, 3000 associates the tall tee with masculinity, or a minimum version of it. He proposes that, the over sized tall t is indicative of a certain type of masculine appearance that he finds negatively connected with hip hop’s version. Ironically, the hip hop version of the American iconic white t-shirt appropriates black and urban notions of masculinity, style and expression. Over sized white tee shirts and baggier jeans are staples indicative of black dress and expression, which can be traced back to the zoot suit and funk styles. The fact that there seems to be negative ideas associated with hip hop’s version seems hypocritical and racist. The white t-shirt is both an American icon and a symbol of American masculinity—what casual American male dress is supposed to look like. And, a simple variation on design should not offend its definition of status. Throughout the decades, there have been variations on the white t-shirt including the A-shirt or commonly referred to as “wife beater,” which photographer Herb Ritts and then young actor Richard Gere made popular in Ritts’ famous photo of Gere wearing an A-shirt and denim jeans in front of a gas station in 1978. Also, photographs of James Dean, another American male icon, on the set of Rebel Without a Cause, wearing the American fitted version in 1955, denotes the American masculine ideology of bravado and sex appeal. These photographs presented to American popular culture more than just an image of celebrity, but they gave young American males an ideological version of hyper-masculinity. Even contemporary takes on the white t-shirt have presented variations such as the plunging v-neck and the more tailored fitting versions made increasingly available in all most every clothing market. Interestingly, the aforementioned variations of the shirt have not garnered a largely negative reception from American popular culture.

It seems hip hop has followed in the footsteps of cultural appropriation by creating the white t-shirt on its own terms by making the t-shirt larger and longer. However, there seems to be notions of masculinity that the tall tee presents to popular culture that is both unsettling and unacceptable. However, André 3000 appears to be presenting hip-hop (through his actions and his words) with a fresher image of black masculinity--one that is articulate, sophisticated, respectful and attentive to the stigma that accompanies current black male stereotypes.

Discussing Black Dress and Style

Since the early 20th century, African-Americans have found ways to appropriate European dress into a style that reflects their own cultural experiences. Throughout the years there have been numerous examples to illustrate this point(black intellectual dress during the Harlem Renaissance, militant black dress of the civil rights movements in the 1960's, and the funky colorful dress of the 1970's). Most of black style has come out social and political contexts and have been direct criticisms of American political and social value systems. This blog purpose is to analyze the roles dress plays in black identity in the United States, and discuss issues that largely involve dress black culture generally and the hip-hop cultural movement in more specific instances.

Style, appearance, clothing, ornament, adornment are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. However, a more general and comprehensive term that articulates these classifications is dress: an assemblage of modifications of the body and or supplements to the body(Eicher&Roach-Higgins,1992). Dressing includes hairstyles, body piercings, tattoos, jewelry, garments, scents and other categories of items added to the body as supplements.

My blog began with a piece on an American iconic piece of clothing: the white t-shirt. Entitled The Tall T and Black Masculinity, this post discusses and illustrates the influence that rap/hip-hop music has on fashion and dress culture. It also analyzes black masculinity. Following the post about t-shirts is a post called Black Bar Behavior, which was my response to personally experiencing racial profiling and witnessing racial prejudice in bars and nightclubs solely based on dress and music. After Black Bar Behavior, I wrote The Current State of Female Dress to present the issues that seemed to me the most significant in influencing the black female body in hip-hop in relation to apparel. Redefining Iconic was my next attempt to present another traditional American icon in style. My goal was to present the foundational principle around the original design of the baseball cap, and then to offer examples of how African-American and hip-hop culture have adapted, not only the baseball cap, but other Anglo-Saxon/Western European styles into their own unique visual expressions. With the post entitled Identity Through Language I wanted to look at the verbal expression side of the African-American/Black aesthetic, and analyze how groups are stereotyped and prejudiced by the language they choose to use. The inspiration for that blog stemmed from the Novel Tuff, Paul Beatty and the book's protagonist Winston "Tuffy" Foshay. The most recent post was a response to an article from The Village Voice by Tom Breihan called Why Do Rappers Keep Quitting? which dealt with the sudden but increasing early "retirement" of unseasoned potentially legendary quality rappers.

Some of the ideas I will continue to discuss will include: particularities of black dress in the United States, social reactions to African-American dress in public spaces, the establishment of black group identity through style, the effectiveness of dress and more particularly style as a form of non-verbal communication, and the priority of dress when discourse is considered.