“Swag's mean, ah-swag's mean / Yeah, she want me cause my swag's so mean / I know I want her, cause her swag's so mean / You know you got it when your swag's so mean” (Bieber). As shown in the lyrics, swag has evolved to an overused word. The once popular rapper Diddy even changed his name to Swag for a week in honor of his attempted comeback (Kaufman). Although since swag became apart of Justin Bieber’s vocabulary and Diddy’s “comeback” was a fail, the use of the word has increasingly been mocked, obtaining swag is still respected as well as desired. Despite originally starting with rappers, the use of the word swag exploded in the teenage generation during the beginning of the 21st century. Furthermore, “swag” is now used in everyday sentences, printed on t-shirts, and is nationally understood. The meaning behind swag used in the current teenage generation comes from a combination of differing meanings from the proper definitions of swag. One definition illustrates a “suspended wreath” with a “cluster of foliage, flowers, or fruit.” Wealth is a connotation for the word swag; the idea that if someone has swag they must have money. Similarly, the decorated wreath brings the idea of wealth; if someone bears an expensive wreath hanging up, they must have money. A second definition describes a “swaying or lurching movement.” Swag also emphasizes how you present yourself; poise and confidence is a necessity. Equivalently, in order to have a swaying movement while walking without looking absolutely ridiculous, confidence, as well as poise, is required. A third definition describes “promotional items that are of no cost” (“Swag”). Swag especially concentrates on outside appearances. Free promotional items focus on components that oth... ... middle of paper ... ... contributed to Jay-Z and T.I. Technological advancements is the reason for the explosion of the word swag throughout America as the song also exploded. The high popularity of social networks is the main reason for the continuation of the use of the word swag throughout the teenage generation, the most vulnerable generation. Still, everyone has the own opinion about swag and uses the word swag to a differeing degree.To many, especially teenagers, swag is a respected and popular word in the vocabulary. To others, swag is a word that is only to be mocked and is scarce in their vocabulary. To the rest, the slang meaning of swag is unknown and the use of the word swag is vacant from their vocabulary. Although the feeling towards the word swag differs between person to person, one thing is for sure: the growth of the word swag reveals negative aspects about our society.
As Complex stated on LL’s trademark style “LL represented a distinctly younger, rowdier style (he was only 18 at the time, after all), with track suits, his signature Kangol bucket hat and four-finger rings, which would go on to become the rap fashion standard for much of the ‘80s (Complex).” This look was very cool and when LL Cool J first came out this look was for B-boys but he definitely showed his fans anybody could wear this combination of clothing. Many people in the 80’s took on this trend, especially the bucket hat. This fashion trended spread across the world from tv shows, to other artist, to regular civilians, this style was very popular. Later on in the rap game LL’s fashion influenced Rappers like Eminem and Rick Ross, who began wearing the Kangol bucket hats (Tha Plug). Another trend that LL started from his fashion was the sprayed painted sweatshirt from the Shirt Kings (Fresh Dressed). This trend was set before LL’s sweatshirt blew up because a lot of artists were going to the shop and getting air sprayed for any type of clothing. When LL gotten himself airbrushed on a shirt it hit the magazines and the popularity begin to increase. Giving the artist company who had done his shirt popularity and everyone started getting airbrushed shirts. About every rapper and everyone had an airbrushed shirt, jacket, pants, or anything that you could wear. In Kanye West Yeezy
Today there are many styles and subcultures that are known in society, from punk to hip-hop, and from hipster to gangster. However, there is one that has become widely acknowledged and popularized in the recent years. This is the “Guido” lifestyle. Made popular by the hit MTV television show “Jersey Shore”, the term Guido was not always accepted in the positive tone that the it is given in popular media today. Some consider it an inappropriate slur and racist term (Cohen 1-2). While that may be the case in the past, today “Jersey Shore” and other mass media have most certainly contributed to the mainstream acceptance and popularity of the Guido style and have changed the direction of the term from that of a racial slur to a term representing a subcultures identity. Subcultures being characterized by symbolism and expression ("Fashioning an Italian-American Youth Style" 1-6), the Guido style does much to become a youth subculture through their grooming, cars and music, and furthermore through their attitudes and demeanors("Fashioning an Italian-American Youth Style" 1-6).
The lyrics in today’s hip hop music are completely pointless. An example of this is 2Chainz “Birthday Song,” in which the rapper says, “She got a big booty so I call her Big Booty,” the song continues with “I’m in the kitchen, yams everywhere.” The majority of hip hop songs on the radio involve three main themes: money, drugs, and women. Rappers brag about the massive amount of money they have, along with their intake of drugs. Hip hop also sexually degrades women by labeling them with offensive words, and overall all being very misogynistic towards women. The message that the new hip hop today is sending is incredibly negative for the audience as well. The negative message that the music is sending poses a large effect on the young listeners. Young listeners are influenced by the antagonistic lyrics in these hip hop songs that they are listening to. Unlike today’s hip hop, old school rap music had meaningful lyrics and when hip hop went to the mainstream media the message was destroyed. Old school rap music has lyrical significance. Rappers wrote lyrics about important subjects such as racial inequality, politics, life struggles, and police brutality. An example of a lyric with actual meaning is N.W.A.’s “Express Yourself,” “I’m expressing with my full capabilities. And now I’m living in correctional facilities.” This lyric explains how the very act communicating their beliefs will cause trouble and could possibly lead to
“Why, yes suh, I’d tip m’hat when I’d go by, and one day she asked me to come inside the fence and bust up a chiffarobe for her.”
Over time, social group labels tend to mutate from their original interpretation, due to societal evolution. The hipster is no exception, as it originally referred to 1940s Bebop Jazz enthusiasts. Hipsters has since become the term referencing pretentious rich kids, attempting to recreate a sense of underground-ness; whether it be music or style-related. However, hipsters of today differ from the former in the sense that their actions are fueled solely by effort, rather than sheer interest of being outlandish and chic concurrently with music and style.
The styles at the beginning of this decade were influenced heavily on the music. With the invention of iPods later in this decade, music was making an imprint on fashion. Rap music had a major influence on the dress of this decade. The Pop Punk look included low rise jeans, crop tops and trucker hats. Accessories included bellow button rings and piercings. Most of this style came from the previous decade and filtered into the beginning of the 2000s. Hip-hop dress took the influence from artists who dressed in baggy clothes. This transformed the fashion world by celebrities wearing Ugg boots and tracksuits. Near the end of this decade the hit television show Gossip Girl aired. This created the trend of private-school preppy to hit the
This made the style popular among hip-hop fans who liked following their idols. In 2000s this fashion remains popular, but it has recently made a comeback in the 2010s, with celebrities like Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Ludacris Justin Bieber and more bringing back the fashion trend. Sagging style in the 1990s was focused on baggy trousers with plaid boxers, but in the 2010s sagging has become popular with skinny jeans and branded boxer-briefs. When ingenuous young people see these images of the men they idolize, they think it is cool to dress like them, and they overlooked all of the negative reactions involved with it. Shawn Thomas is a 17-year-old high school student who sag his pants says. “It shouldn’t matter to people how I want to wear my pants, the key word I that being MY. I don’t tell older people I don’t like how they wear their clothes, so they shouldn’t say anything about how I wear mines”. According to many people, young man who wears sagging pants are criminals because the history of this fashion comes from the prison. In my opinion, there is a sad level of decency in this country, and its too bad people always jump the gun and point fingers when they have nothing better to do with their
Generation after generation, music has revolutionized cultures around the globe. Each generational trend in music greatly inspires that specific era on what to wear, how to act, and what to say. We all connect with music, and as it continues to evolve, so will society. One genre has continuously stirred up conversation and sparked debate regarding the direction it is taking its listeners. Only one genre has had the gumption to speak out against the government on a regular basis. Only one genre has found a way to make every other genre cater to its style and inescapable appeal. Since the 1980’s, hip-hop has changed the way people think, but not always in a positive manner. Hip-hop has been a trend setter and guided our culture over the last
“Imagine my ass, just warning you. She can’t be trusted. She’s no good, the heart is black as night, I know her, Garland, I’m telling don’t go down there and get played by her. She’ll double cross your ass in a New York minute.”
Growing up, my life has revolved around music and diverse cultural aspects of it. Considering my interest in music, this weeks’ core Friday focused on giving students the backstory and history of hip hop. The lecture was presented by multiple people. Each of them had their own topics on explaining the different aspects that played a role in the development of the hip hop movement. Through all this, I learned that hip-hop has more to it than just a form of music and dance. It is a complex art that expresses the culture, attitude, and personality of the person. Hip hop also consists of graffiti. Graffiti is a writing or drawing on a street wall, also known as street art.
The fashion became simpler, shorter, and brighter. The elements of the fashion were short skirts, bright colors, graphic patterns, and unusual materials. The fashion for teenagers began to make them more recognizable. The youth copied the clothing of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. Teenagers were influenced by clothing like The Beatles’ jacket and Jimi Hendrix’s bright colors. The pop idols started to use fashion in their
In the “Champagne Taste, Beer Budget” the character Dee was a fashion addict and would empty her wallet and max out her credit card during a single trip to the mall. “At first I just took pride in being the best-dressed female at my high school” [279] Dee was soon to find out that she was running out of money so fast that she would have to start bowing money from her mom. Then Dee’s mom was one day snooping around Dee’s room and was seeing where Dee’s paychecks were going too to find out that they were going careless shopping. Then Dee’s mother transferred her to another school to see if that helped with her addiction with labels, this worked Dee had “less emphasis on clothes, and more emphasis on work.” In this essay, we saw that Dee “wore a designer emblem on her chest like a badge of honor and respect” she was only in tenth grade when this was happing. Future generations are going to struggle with this because everyone wants the best label like Nike, Under Armor and North Face but there are way more than just those three labels you also have other things like technology that everyone wants, like the latest and greatest
90’s “Grunge Style” My paper is on grunge style from the 90s, Grunge to me sounds like dirty, messy, filthy, and not really a style. Grunge style it's more of a look , Vintage, clothes you would find at a Goodwill that expressed the Alternative Rock culture of the 90’s. than it is a smell or feeling. Most people have never heard the expressions from the 90s such as: I'm bound and hagged,(staying home on a saturday night) bloated,(drunk) in my wack slacks,(old ripped jeans) swinging on the flippity
... show off one’s wealth, such as through expensive hair highlights, jewelry, or manicures. Students will also inevitably talk about their families, vacations, and hobbies. Finally, students will be wearing normal clothing at social events outside of school, which can establish social hierarchies based on clothing, if these hierarchies exist.
Not only is hip-hop a way of expressing ones feelings or views, but is a part of the urban culture and can be used as a communication tool. Slang originally came from hip-hop music and has become a very popular use in today’s society, especially the urban parts.