Although many believe that the Hip Hop game is not what it used to be lyrically, there is one thing that seems to remain consistent amongst the new age artists of today…attire. The style of dress for a rapper is pretty typical nowadays: over-sized, iced up chains, baggy or now thanks to Lil’ Wayne, skinny jeans, fitted hats and a pair of fresh 1’s to officially make them a complete fashion package, to some. Luckily, there are those who add something extra to their look, often times looks that can’t be duplicated even by the most fashionable person alive.
Cee Lo Green, member of Goodie Mob and Pop/Rock Neo-Soul group Gnarls Barkley, is a person that could never go overlooked. His raspy, yet soulful sound has laced many of tracks. But his fashion sense is something that always seems to have crowds buzzin’ on the regular:
Even if you aren’t running to the store to find this colorful bird outfit, I guaranteed that that image is forever sketched in your head.
Cee Lo is not the only one that likes to be extreme when it comes to his clothing.
Look at Andre 3000.
The colorful bow ties, plaid bell bottoms pants, furry coats and the freshly pressed hair is not the typical look for Rap/Hip Hop artists of today; we are used to seeing the thousand dollar diamond necklaces hanging from their necks. Now Andre 3000 didn’t come into the game with this image; hell, he didn’t come into the game with the name he has now. But he and Big Boi, his close friend and the other half to the group Outkast, let it be known early on that they are not afraid to test the waters of uniqueness when it came to their music and their style of dress.
Grabbing the attention of your fans by not only your lyrics but your appearance too has a lot of positives to it. Andre 3000 hasn’t put out an album in awhile now but has anybody forgotten what he looks like and his extraordinary abilities on the mic? No. That’s the beauty of being creative.
Now here’s where being too different brings about the ignorance in folks.
Questions about a person’s sexuality begin to pop up out of nowhere. There were a few occasions where Andre 3000 spoke on how people started to question whether or not he was gay or on drugs because his dress game was so elaborate compared to those of other artists. Is that so huh? The last time I checked, being a homosexual goes much further than what meets the eye.
His reaction to these comments: He still kept doing his thing, and quite well might I add.
Andre 3000 has seen much success with ‘Kast and as a solo artist so how much did his bob cut really affect? Not much of nothing.
I see no harm in artists, whether they are male or female, adding some originality and spice to their wardrobe. Clearly, the originality as far as song content goes is lacking HORRIBLY when it comes to the majority of the rap songs that are out now, even boiling down to how rappers sound on a track. So we need something to help us distinguish the difference between artists.
These two artists have proven that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being the “Outkast” and having people think that you are “Crazy”.
It all boils down to what you bring to the table lyrically, despite what kind of hairstyle you may be rockin’ or what you have on your back or feet.
It’s about what is coming out of your mouth…the lyrical content. And who’s to say what one should be wearing when they do so.
Daring to be different has its negatives but the perks are much greater; artists have the chance to embed their own coined style in the minds of their fans and their critics.
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