Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada and Why Kreayshawn is an Assault on Hip Hop

Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada and Why Kreayshawn is an Assault on Hip Hop

Crunk Feminist Collective did and excellent piece about Kreayshawn (check them out here) and how her whole image and style (and more importantly music) are an assault on Black Women. (Which I agree wholeheartedly) SO I will leave that topic alone...I will also forget (temporarily) that her sister (which will remain nameless because I do not want to give her any "shine" nor any more publicity) says the n-word more than members of a Ku Klux Klan leader (or more than you would hear at a Tea Party rally, for that matter). I'll forget about that and focus on her style. After all, this is a fashion blog...is it not?

To the left is Kreayshawn's outfit in her Gucci, Gucci song. At first glance, the outfit is cute. Similar to an urban Madonna circa "Borderline", okay, no problem. A lot of kids I see in the metro DC area are (and have been) dressing like this (for a while now) However, reading the blogs whether they be music or fashion oriented, they tout her as the urban Lady Gaga! "Her style is unique", "she's so fashionable", one blog gushed. Really, is she? What makes her style so unique? As a Black woman who was born in the early eighties, I remember my sister and her friends dressing similarly (in the 80's!). Her haircut? Very MC Lyte, and Pepa'ish (from Salt N Pepa) Matter of fact, artists ranging from hip hop to punk have been expressing a similar style of clothes for a good 4 or 5 years now.

My point (or question) is why when a white person imitates "Black urban fashion" that they are the pinnacle of fashion, worthy of a million dollar Def Jam deal, when Black people who dress themselves like that everyday~are largely ignored and ridiculed by society at large for their style of dress? I remember non urban fashionistas ridiculing Pepa for her asymmetrical cut, and I promise you the Source or any other fashion mag wasn't beating down MC Lyte's door to add her to their covers. And while the everyday Black Woman in inner cities and suburbs were the originators of this fashion, they get absolutely no credit for it, much less a record deal, a magazine cover or even a blog shout out!

Maybe my opinions run deeper than just style. I will admit that. But let's call it what it is, a white girl imitating Black culture (which is not new, mind you). She is not extremely fashionable. To me, fashion is supposed to be creative and ORIGINAL! How you rock your Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada is what makes you fashionable...not looking at the runways or what MC Lyte, Salt and Pepa and every other African American woman wears or styles their hair and copy it piece for piece, strand for strand.

Besides Kreayshawn being a mediocre rapper, with an ignorant "sister" who uses the n-word profusely, she is an assault on hip hop lovers, especially Black Women whom love hip hop. She copies our swag, our demeanor, our hair which we are ridiculed for (and called nappy headed hoes by radio hosts who still earn a living, somehow) however, when she does it (or any other white person), she is considered the pinnacle of style. Do you see the hypocrisy? When did not being yourself and a copy cat become cool?