I Am Hip Hop
When did I first fall in love with Hip Hop? It was in 1986 that Hip-Hop’s golden arrow hit me as I was waiting for my pre-calculus class period to start at Peabody High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In this case, Cupid came in the form of a rapper from Long Island, New York. One of my friends passed me a cassette tape he had just received from his cousin in New York, who was also from “strong island,” of a rapper named Rakim. I popped the tape into my Walkman and listened intently to the lyrics of the song called “My Melody.” I’ll never forget it.
I’ll take 7 MCs put’em in a line
And add 7 more brothers that think they can rhyme
Well it’ll take 7 more before I go for mine
And that’s 21 MCs ate up at the same time.
- Rakim, “My Melody”
I can’t tell you what formulas the calculus teacher talked about that day but Rakim’s math was more than sufficient for me. I also loved to express myself through writing so it was inevitable that I started writing my own rhymes. We would eventually have rap “battles” during lunchtime in the boy’s bathroom. I won my fair share and lost a couple, too. From that point on, no matter what, Hip Hop went wherever I went. LL Cool J’s Radio was the soundtrack for my junior year in 1986 and Run-DMC’s Rock Box became my workout anthem for summer football practice.
During this time, Hip Hop also became more than just a sound. Rappers began talking about shoes and clothes and their album covers always showcased the hottest gear. All of a sudden, it became very necessary to wear a Kangol hat because LL Cool J sported one or Adidas shell toes once Run-DMC dropped its classic “My Adidas.” The pressure was on to find a fresh pair of shell toes with the fat laces like the BBoys on the classic Hip-Hop film Krush Groove.
I was raised in a single-parent household in the tough Homewood-Brushton section of Pittsburgh so things were tight financially for us. Mom worked two jobs just to keep food on the table, and much to my chagrin, shell toes were not a priority over the light bill that month. One day after finishing a baseball game, I found a stack of dollar bills lying in the outfield grass. I dashed to David’s Shoes in the East Liberty section of the city, which always had the newest shoes, to get a pair of shell toes. I was disappointed to find the price tag after the tax was more than the $20 in crumpled bills I had.
As I walked back toward the bus stop disheartened, I walked by a store that had what looked like a pair of shell toes. They even had three stripes. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the Adidas name. I bought them anyway. The next day in school, I quickly learned the two golden rules of the Hip-Hop culture and lifestyle: Authenticity and Originality. If you didn’t have the latest, you’d be ridiculed. And, boy, did it get tougher and tougher to keep up. The brands moved swiftly from Adidas sneakers to Air Jordans, sweat suits like Le Coq Sportif, and outerwear such as Starter jackets for the guys. Meanwhile, brands like Sasson and Gloria Vanderbilt became must haves for girls.
Hip-Hop Quotable
I’ve been in the game for 10 years making rap tunes
ever since honeys were wearing Sassons.
- Dr. Dre, “California Love”
The thirst for designer wares became insatiable and was born out of a desire to demonstrate to our peers that we were cool. It also gave us a temporary hold on the finer things in life, which were typically beyond our grasp. All of a sudden, this array of fashion and clothing brands, which was being fueled by Hip Hop’s growing imagery and funneled through its clever lyrics, became the canvas for my friends and I to create our own style.
In the summer of 1987, I left Pittsburgh to attend college outside of Chicago at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and I took Hip Hop with me.
The period of the late 1980s and early 1990s were clearly the golden years for Hip-Hop music and the onset of the urban mindset in critical mass as well as the early formation of distinct segments within the population. Artists like EPMD (acronym for Erick and Parrish Making Dollars) and Big Daddy Kane, who made gold the jewelry of choice for us, epitomized the fulfillment of the lifestyle aspirations of the Hip-Hop generation to access material trappings. Conversely, groups like Public Enemy and KRS-One’s Boogie Down Productions raised the level of political and social awareness, countering the early consumerism exhibited by the Hip-Hop generation while De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest supplanted brand consciousness with self-consciousness and positive self-expression. On the West Coast, N.W.A. brought tales of the streets and gangs to the culture and were one of the first to make sports team apparel popular donning Los Angeles Raiders (NFL) gear to promote their menacing brand imagery. During this time, apparel brands such as Cross-Colours, T.R.O.O.P., and Tommy Hilfiger flourished along with Hip-Hop’s rising popularity.
In a later chapter I’ll discuss how Tommy Hilfiger failed to leverage the loyalty of urban consumers that, ultimately, led to the decline of the brand’s pop culture relevance and sales.
