Hip-hop was brought to life via the runway this weekend on Direct Effect presents Fashionably Loud: Hip-Hop Style. MTV paid homage to hip-hop not only for it’s vivid portrayal of street life through poetic lyrics and catchy hooks, but also through its urban style. Hip-hop was credited for various looks that are making a killing commercially, these looks include baggy jeans, wave caps, and baseball caps.
It is good to see hip-hop getting the respect it has earned. Two decades ago when it emerged on the scene, hip-hop was viewed as a trend like disco, one that was catchy at the time, but would eventually fizzle out with the changing time.
Well, those critics were proven wrong, here we are in 2002, and hip-hop is still a thriving force in the music industry. Hip-hop has paved the way for many young people giving some of us the hope that we can one day be somebody doing something we love. Hip-hop artists give many of us who did not grow up in the suburban cities lined with manicured lawns someone could relate to.
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone in hip-hop is a motivational force. Forget the Osbournes. Hip-hop is the ultimate dysfunctional family. ODB is the crazy cousin that everyone is ashamed of, extended family members wonder what could have possibly prompted him to take MTV along on a joyride down to the welfare office to collect food stamps and other government issued stipends. Then there’s R. Kelly, the uncle who was doing so well, then finally lost it. One day talking about how he wants to do nothing more than fly, the next day he’s facing 21 counts of child pornography for getting it on with a 14-year-old over- developed child.
Then, there’s the slutty second cousins Little Kim and Foxy, the two who undeniably have skills and are very good at what they do, but you have to wonder why they feel the need to show up at family affairs like Christmas and church sermons in couchie cutters and thier cleavage bearing shirts. Then, there’s the patriarchial figure, kind of like Tommy from Martin, manages to have money, but no one knows where since he doesn’t have a job. Of the family who makes you wonder how they arrived at the place they are now when they can barely carry a tune or write a phrase but are making millions of dollars, um can anyone say Percy Miller, a.k.a. Master P. This man is raking in the dough through various mediums, he has his hands in everything from sports to clothing and music.
Ok, I have drifted of topic, but what I was trying to say when I started is it’s about time hip-hop has gotten the respect it deserves. Now that hip-hop has the recognition it deserves people are able to capitalize on this hot commodity. I only hope that the makers of these products will start putting more customer friendly prices on their clothing, so those of us who love the music so much will actually have the opportunity to wear it.
