Rinse.Style by Christa Williams, 6/15/07

She’s a little bit hip hop; he’s a little bit of rock and roll. While this conflict isn’t exactly age old in 2007, this intermusical relationship is being embraced by today’s youth culture.

Let’s be honest, even the most devout hip hop heads indulge in their favorite guilty pleasure of Punk Rock. The connection between the two is understandable when we look at the similarities in the two cultures. Hip hop and rock and roll have both been criticized by mainstream media and been at the center of controversy almost since their very beginning. While the 2 Live Crew were fighting cases with the Supreme Court and the public opinion over songs like “me so horny” and “nasty as they want to be”, Ozzy Osborne was doing the same after biting off the head of a bat during a concert. Both cultures represent rebellion, making a statement, and just being young. The two cultures also have strong roots in blues as well as rhythmic poetry. Combine Run DMC’s thick gold chains and Aerosmith’s vintage band tees with very punk skinny jeans and chunky heels and what do you get? A smoothie of young, hip and sexy. Check out Gwen Stefani and her punk/hip hop/ hirajuku inspired line L.A.M.B. which has a spicy blend of all these flavors.

I’m thinking the clothes on our backs are just as diverse now as what’s in our iPods. No wonder hip hop mogul Jay-Z made Fall Out Boy honorary members of the Roc-a-fella family. Hip hop and punk rock have never loved each other more. Remember the “Grey Album”, a fantastic mix of Jay-Z’s lyrics over the backdrop of old Beatles’s tunes? Well if you take that and translate it into clothing you just might get a little bit of high fashion and lot of street cred. Oh and yes, that is definitely Travis Barker from Blink-182, rocking a grill in everybody’s video, and no he’s not trying to be “down”, he already is.

Today’s youth aren’t as concerned with proving how hip hop or rock they are, it’s about “making the statement”, a statement that’s anything but grey. For years Betsey Johnson has been sending this idea down runways across the world but now our fabulous around the way girls everywhere mix these pieces up with their fabulous “door knocker” earrings and ghetto-chic faux furs and denim fits just in time to tell the world “Yes honey, I am the epitome of Fly.” True fashion draws from inspiration and the need for expression. It can’t be categorized into any type of box and divas and divos everywhere are taking off the weights of stereotypes and becoming one with this idea.

Songstress and fashionista Kelis, the queen of “something different”, has been breaking fashion rules and setting trends since she first hit the scene with her in your face single “I Hate You So Much Right Now”. Now a “Milkshake” and a “Millionaire” later, twenty-somethings everywhere are saying “oh yes Kelis, keep showing me what you got”. There isn’t one red carpet that Kelis steps foot on without making a statement and flashing that clever smile at the camera with that look saying “dare to be different”. From soulful, curly locks to her ultra-punk short cut, Kelis hits every extreme. You can catch her rocking Louis monograms, Chanel earrings, bright nails and an old school chain all at the same time. I suppose it’s no surprise the name of this diva’s album is called “Kelis was Here”. She’s a genius at leaving her mark.

Celebs such as Kanye and Andre 3000 both give guys a new, unique take on today’s fashion with looks inspired by hip hop, rock, prep and high fashion. Esquire magazine couldn’t get enough of Andre’s outrageous blend of well… everything, which made it easier to vote him America’s “Best-Dressed Man”. For those of us who ever questioned his sense of fashion that title was a turning point. I’m pretty certain he hasn’t been questioned since and neither have other style icons of today. Kanye West’s interesting mix of blazers, unbuttoned shirts, slim jeans and hanging chain visits several cultures and era’s separately while all at the same time. We first saw him as the kid with a white tee and Louis Vuitton backpack and now he’s setting as trends and grabbing Grammys all at the same time. While neither Andre nor Kanye are strictly punk or hip hop, both define thinking outside the box.

Over the past decade cultural blending has become a social norm. We can now turn on the television and see music videos once strictly kept on Black music channels on MTV’s top ten. We can turn to BET and see Gwen Stefani, famous for rockin’ out in her No Doubt days, on 106th and Park. In an age when walking down the sidewalk is like walking down a runway, it’s almost difficult to be too over the top - bottom line, whether you love hip hop, punk, ska or even country, it’s official ANYTHING goes.

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