THE GROUPIE HO LOOK
Perfected by smutty femcees such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown, the groupie ho look still gets major play around the clubs, with more flesh on offer than a Greek fest. The smaller the garments the better. The more ill-fitting, the hotter. As long as we’re seeing some resemblance of nip, you know the groupie ho look is in effect. Bonus points go to any ensemble kitted out with beads and sequins!
THE OVER GOLD LOOK
Wearing more chains than a death row prisoner, the over gold look was perfected and parodied in the Wayans Brothers first ever mock-sploitation film I’m Gunna Get You Sucka. With wannabee rappers showing their success by the amount of chains they could rock, dudes were OGing all over the shop, with stooped necks and funky green rashes from fake gold dookies. A look mastered by such dope MCs as Slick Rick, Ghostface Killah and Erik B, the trend made a comeback in 2005 only to be forced out by its gimmicky one hit wonder status.
GHETTO LEG LOOK
Made famous by new jack swing legends Bell Biv Devoe, the ghetto leg look hit poor neighbourhoods in America in the early ‘90s. It was a sign of not only being ‘gangsta’ but also as a sign of practicality for all those scrubs that couldn’t afford cars so had to roll up their pants on one side as not to get their ish caught in the chain of their bike.
CONDOM EYE PATCHES
Thanks to Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes (RIP) of TLC fame, no kid in the ‘90s would ever be unaware of the dangers of unsafe sex due to her fashion gimmick of wearing a condom (in packet, natch) over her left eye. Not only did it cause a massive stir back in the day, my mums shut me down for a full week after I tried in all desperation to emulate Left Eye’s style.
WU WEAR/SHADY WEAR/FUBU
Our first main exposure to hip hop clothing labels down under came in the form of bogan tracksuit combos thanks to Wu-Tang, FUBU and yes, Mr Shady himself - Eminem. Decked head to toe in parachute material fluorescent yellow trackies emblazed with the “W” or the shonkily designed “SHADY” logo, you can still pick up either brand at Vic Markets on a Sunday morning!
BAGGY LOW-SLUNG JEANS
Perhaps my favourite of all the hip hop fashion looks is one that will stay with me til I die. If I had a dollar for every time I heard “pull ya pants up” or “I can see your undies” I’d own TheVine, not work for it! It’s a look that has recently been pushed out by the skinny jean set – from one extreme to the other. An extension of the MC Hammer pant, the only way to rock these bad boys is with the crutch at knee length and plenty of ass sag in the back. I favour Levis 501 Shrink To Fit selvedge – at least 5 sizes too big. BLAM!
SHINY JUMPSUITS
Adopted and perfected by Puff Daddy and Ma$e, the shiny jumpsuit shimmied its way into hip hop in the late ‘90s, early '00s circa Mo’ Money Mo’ Problems/ Hype Williams era. Missy Elliott went one better and actually wrapped herself in an inflatable garbage bag in her debut film clip “The Rain” all in the name of art. Shiny jumpsuits were short-lived when most realized that rocking ‘em made you look the fool, not only act the fool…but I gotta give props to the Bad Boy team for trying something new and bringing back some sparkle to the gritty hip hop scene.
BLING
No rapper has made it until he/she has a customized piece of bling – whether it be reppin’ their own name or the moniker of their crew, if you ain’t rocking the shiny shit, you ain’t shit. With an overload of bling hitting the scene in the '00s, rumour had it that many cats would wear cubic zirconium pieces rather than the real thing, as most could not afford the diamonds and platinum rocked on the regular deal. Really, who was gunna check if that ish was real? 50 Cent, PDiddy and Fabolous were covered head to toe in bling from necklaces, bracelets, Rolexes, even phones dipped in diamonds to show off their new wealth, while Lil John rocked his bling on his pimp cup!
GRILLZ
Close to Bling, Grillz made a massive mark on hip hop in late 2000s with artists such as Paul Wall, Lil John, Pharrell and Nelly cementing their teeth with diamonds of every colour. Paul Wall even went as far as to start his own Grillz fitting company, allowing peeps from all over the globe to fit their molars with a mouthful of shine. One has to wonder just what girl wants to make out with a man who rocks a grill – there would be some serious gum chaffing going on there!
CAPS/HATS/BANDANAS
It’s no secret that most peeps into hip hop take a special pride in the way they look – from head to toe, the whole outfit needs to be rocked tight, on point and matching if possible. One piece that has always had a place in hip hop fashion is headwear. Starting from the leather homoerotic caps of Melle Melle to the Kangols rocked by Grandmaster Flash, headwear has become a major important piece of the hip hop costume. These days most heads prefer New Era fitted caps (the debate over those that rock the NE sticker on the peak and those that don’t has divided the market – for the record, I would not been seen dead rocking the sticker!) and with the ageing rate of rappers on the scene today (I’m looking at you 50 and LL) headwear is the perfect way to hide that receding hairline or baldness. Tupac owned the bandana big time, Will Smith rocked the snap back hard and Run DMC got their pork pie on, making dome flossing the riguer de jeur for hip hop fash.