I was heading inside Amos’ Southend on Friday when a guy wearing an oversized polo shirt and jeans stopped me. He wanted to know if the 1st Fridays party was the only thing happening that night.
The line to get inside the club stretched down the sidewalk just after midnight.
I suggested Studio 74.
He looked at me as if I were stupid, and said he didn’t know what 74 was.
"We’re not from here," he said, pointing to five other guys standing against the building. "Can’t you tell? We’re from Philly."
I looked at his friends. Each wore oversized white T-shirts and jeans.
This time, I looked at him as if he were stupid. I laughed, and said, "You look like every other black man in Charlotte."
Why do grown men feel like it’s okay to dress exactly alike?
Wait, I know. Commercial hip-hop has turned many young blacks into followers, and made geographic regions indistinguishable.
For example, the finger-snap dance popularized in Atlanta’s Bankhead community is now done here, too. If Yung Joc’s "It’s Goin’ Down," plays in the club, watch how many people do the dance from the video. Gold teeth, which have been popular in the deep South forever, are now fashionable nationwide thanks to Nelly’s "Grillz."
Cmmercial hip-hop has turned countless young blacks into ghetto cloones, and there’s a guy from Philadelphia running around thinking he’s an individual.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
They all look the same
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10 comments:
I AGREE with you Mona! How is this news worthy? Don't see the entertainment value???
I'm sorry Tonya but I usually understand where you're coming from in your articles. But this one is kind of stupid. If the conversation went exactly how you described it...where did your reaction come from? That makes no since. All they did was ask if you could tell they were from Philly...they should have warranted a yes or a no. Not a "you look like every other black man in Charlotte." That's a little stupid to take that one scenario to spark up this conversation.
Most black men in men in Charlotte, or the nation for that matter, dress like they're going to a rap video shoot. By that I mean they all dress like potential street-muggers. Why don't they dress respectable and wear the right size t-shirt or have the right color teeth?(Gold teeth? What a joke) What the heck is wrong with them? This isn't a one-sided bash either. White middle class boys are dressing like they just jumped off the set of the O.C. or something stupid like that. Why don't their parents instill a sense of self-respect in them and not let them out of the house wearing girly jeans and sexually-questionable shirts? That really grinds my gears. Anyways, Peter Griffin signing out.
I have to say that I agree with the Peter Griffin poster. I think it's really funny when I see all these kids (and older people too) dressing just like everyone else that they think is cool and then thinking that they are somehow being original. Black kids all wanting to be 'ganstas' (and some of the white kids too) and white kids wanting to look like the people that they see on their favirite TV shows. Yeah, a lot of originality there. Why don't some of them try being themselves, rather than looking "just like every other kid in Charlotte" too stupid to be original????
Well, growing up in The Bronx, NY, Hip-Hop and Black youth were about individual identity. There was a period where we all wore high top Reebok's, but the twist was who could get the newest color first, and how you were able to wear them 'YOUR WAY'.
I think with the commercialism of Hip Hop, people who do not quite understand the core of Hip Hop do not understand that it is about expressing yourself through the 'CULTURE'. I remember when Rakim, from Eric B and Rakim, changed a beat to his song because another rapper used it. Rappers should not look alike or sound alike. It is suppose to be about art.
That's just my 2 cents coming from NY.
All black men do not look the same. Tonya maybe the spots that you go to it's the same crowd and if you are at these spots you must not have that big of a problem with they way they dress.The spots I hit I dont see the white tees, or gold teeth. I was out that same weekend at Cosmos on Sunday at Inner Circle's party and every person in their were urban young professionals. You told them 74 so the spots you frequent are questionable. I think anytime you have a dance that goes with the song people will do the dance when the song comes on. Steppin with the song Steppin in the name of love, Doing the butt to the song doing the butt, lean wit it rock wit it to the song lean wit it rock wit it. We are influenced everyday by a lot things concious and unconcious.
I agree with Tonya and YES I think it's news worthy. Believe it or not, trends and culture as well as art reflect our political happenings in our society. They are a mirror to show what's really going on. This cookie cutter image gives the impression that the youth are just following the medias lead, and that's it. Apparently thinking for yourself and making your own decisions is out of style, sad. There was a day when young men were too proud to dress exactly like their peers. Yes, there are fashion trends, but this is crazy, we actually have a "hip hop" uniform now. Come on and don't even try to bring race into this bloggers there are plently of hip hop fans both global and in Charlotte who wear huge white tees, baggy jeans and Air Force Ones. It's not a race thing, it's a music thing at least now it is. I wish men would dress like men again. There are a few artists out there who are trying to change the trends by wearing tailored suits and cardigan sweaters. Just the other day on the VMA awards Timbaland and Justin Timberlake wore suits. T.I. and David Banner wore suits in their last two performances. I don't expect everyone to walk around wearing suits, but I do expect a little more class and individuality. If you are creative and you think for yourself, show it.
Reaching for something now but today its not commercial hip hop. Its hip POP. Diet hip hop.
Public Enemy,NWA, RUN DMC, even Beastie Boys ARE hip HOP.
Sorry young people but this guy likes some of the new stuff but there is not enough message and too much grills and rims and how much booty can I show on one video. Really talented folks huh?
Tailored suits? Are you kidding me? I don't watch that joke of a tv station, but I've seen some of the commercials and they're just trying to seem like they have more money than other people. And their clothes are far from having an ounce of class. However, I do agree with you that it's a step in the right direction. A black, smart, respectable, man in Lynn Swann has all the makings of what young black america should be striving for. He's well spoken, well dressed(in the real world kind of way, not a euro-trash way), bright, and successful. He's the type of person where race doesn't even come to mind when you think of him(for most people, I hope). As for ignorant black rappers(i.e. Kanye West - what a joke of a human being), they're just as bad as white biggots and the stereotypical culture that goes with both. Anyways, that just grinds my gears...Peter Griffin signing out(after a few beers so pardon the grammatical errors)
they dress alike so when one of them breaks the law, the victim can only describe a black man wearing an oversized white t-shirt and baggy jeans. there's no way to identify which one did it, so nobody goes to jail.
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