Hip-Hop Flip Flops Past Rocking Only High Tops

The “Everybody” Video for Fonzworth Bentley is an example of the transformation of Hip-hop, and coincidently, it’s battle with maturity. And we’ve (those who care about the gene’s development, not so much it’s exploitation) been saying it for years, that its high time that hip-hop stops trying to combat certain elements of high fashion, and the result is a progression into middle age which has presented an inverted perspective on mid-life crises. If you adjust your scope to circa 1999, Outkast were the progenitors of the Southern Gent meets dough boy sophisticate look, and that has spread, interestingly enough, to Chicago.

I’ve made the claim before that the south is where hip-hop’s soul lives, but Chicago is where it’s heart and future is currently residing- so it’s only right that Mr. Fresh-to Death West help progress both the music, and it’s appeal. However, the most interesting angle at which to look at this growth, is not from its maturity, but from its second generation, where an infusion of different cultures is cluster fucking both the scene and how hip-hop is captivating our minds. Populated by a larger sampling of, well, everyone, will definitely help change what we see as street culture and create some interesting moments as well.