The Introduction...

Okay...so to get straight to it, this blog is about the evolution of Hip Hop fashion (from the 70s till now). I think it's important to share Hip Hop's etymology and culture, in order for everyone to understand where it comes from and understand how significant the culture changes are. So before I take you through the actual fashion evolution, I need you to sit through a young history lesson:)

Hip hop is the combination of two separate slang terms—"hip, used in African American English as early as 1898, meaning current or in the now, and "hop", for the hopping movement. Hip Hop is a broad genre that originated as a specific street subculture within African American communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically in Morris Heights, The Bronx, then later spread its influence to Latin American communities. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different manifestations of the culture: rap music, turntablism or "DJing" , breaking and graffiti art. Despite their contrasting methods of execution, they find unity in their common association to the poverty and violence underlying the historical context that birthed the culture.

In the 1970s an underground urban movement known as "hip hop" began to develop in the South Bronx area of New York City focusing on emceeing (or MCing), breakbeats, and house parties. Starting at the home of DJ Kool Herc at the high-rise apartment at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the movement later spread across the entire borough. Rap developed both inside and outside of hip hop culture, and began in America in earnest with the street parties thrown in the Bronx neighborhood of New York in the 1970s by Kool Herc and others—Jamaican born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as being highly influential in the pioneering stage of hip hop music. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of impromptu toasting, boastful poetry and speech over music. This became Emceeing - the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered over a beat or without accompaniment—taking inspiration from the Rapping derived from the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, and Jamaican-style toasting. Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC".

The commercial success of gangsta rap in the early 1990s, the emphasis shifted to drugs, violence, and misogyny. Early proponents of gangsta rap included groups and artists such as Ice-T, who recorded what some consider to be the first gangster rap record, 6 In The Mornin', and N.W.A. whose second album Efil4zaggin became the first gangsta rap album to enter the charts at number one. Gangsta rap also played an important part in hip hop becoming a mainstream commodity. The fact that albums such as N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton, Eazy-E’s Eazy-Duz-It, and Ice Cube’s Amerikkka's Most Wanted were selling in such high numbers meant that black teens were no longer hip hop’s sole buying audience. As a result, gangsta rap became a platform for artists who chose to use their music to spread politic and social messages to parts of the country that were previously unaware of the conditions of ghettos. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has been largely disregarded by mainstream America. Musicians, like Nas and KRS-ONE have claimed "hip hop is dead" in that it has changed so much over the years to cater to the consumer that it has lost the essence for which it was originally created. As the hip hop genre turns 30, a deeper analysis of the music’s impact is taking place. It has been viewed as a cultural sensation which changed the music industry around the world, but some believe commercialization and mass production have given it a darker side. Hip Hop's recent manifestations have been described as a marriage of “New World African ingenuity and that trick of the devil known as global-hypercapitalism”, arguing it has joined the “mainstream that had once excluded its originators.” While hip hop's values may have changed over time, the music continues to offer its followers and originators a shared identity which is instantly recognizable and much imitated around the world.

In South Africa the largest form of hip hop is called Kwaito, which has had a growth similar to American hip hop. Kwaito is a direct reflection of a post apartheid South Africa and is a voice for the voiceless; a term that U.S. hip hop is often referred to. Kwaito is even perceived as a lifestyle, encompassing many aspects of life, including language and fashion.

Kwaito is a political and party-driven genre, as performers use the music to express their political views, and also to express their desire to have a good time. Kwaito is a music that came from a once hated and oppressed people, but it is now sweeping the nation. The main consumers of Kwaito are adolescents and half of the South African population is under 21. Kwaito allows the participation and creative engagement of otherwise socially excluded peoples in the generation of popular media. South African hip hop is more diverse lately and there are hip hop acts in South Africa that have made an impact and continue making impact worldwide. These include Tumi, Ben Sharpa, HHP, Tuks Senganga etc. Kwaito has also sort of died in SA. It has been over shadowed by the hip hop artists who have zero time for talking about their struggle or political views. Instead, they are trying their best to be exactly like the big artists in the US. Authenticity is one thing this genre will never gain back.

Many artists are now considered to be underground artists when they attempt to reflect what they believe to be the original elements of the culture. Artists/groups such as Lupe Fiasco, Immortal Technique, Lowkey, Brother Ali, The Roots, Shing02, Jay Electronica, Nas, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar, Gangstarr, KRS-One etc. emphasize messages of verbal skill, internal/external conflicts, life lessons, unity, social issues, or activism. Essentially, they are the artists who have been true to Hip Hop's reason to exist, they are the only ones who have not been swayed by commercialization or mainstream hip hop.Mainstream hip hop now focuses on money and bad b*itches. You'll be able to see how the message actually influences the fashion style in my upcoming posts.