Black and Black and Black all Over
“Get y’all black tees on, all black everything. Black cards, Black cars, all black everything.”
-Jay-Z “Run This Town”
“I wear black because it’s the only way I can express my inner pain.”
-Me while dressed as an Emo kid for Halloween.
One of the strangest coincidences in the modern fashion world has to be the habit of both rap stars and so-called “Emo” or “Goth” kids to dress in all black. After all, these two groups are essentially polar opposites; the former rapping about guns, women and violence while the latter resign themselves to relative isolation while they contemplate their deeper feelings. So, I suppose the question here is, is there some sort of deeper connection here? Or is this just entirely coincidental?
From the 1990s onwards, countless rappers have been wearing all black, or at least mostly black, outfits. Dr. Dre has sported this look (as seen in “Still D.R.E.”) for a while. However, he’s only one of many performers to adopt this look. On Nas’ “Hero” video, he and everyone in the background are decked in all black. In Young Jeezy’s “Put On,” he wears all black too, with the symbol of the black-and-silver American flag shown throughout the video. Finally, no rapper wears more black than Jay-Z. In both “Run This Town” and “Death of Autotune,” I don’t believe he wears a single color at any time. In addition, at one point during “D.O.A.” he uses his wardrobe to contrast himself with flashy newer rappers by saying “Your colors too bright, your voice too light. I might wear black for four years straight.” Clearly, in Jay’s eyes, black is the color of the “hardest” old-school rappers, whereas only the sell-out pop-artist rappers that he slams throughout D.O.A. wear bright colors. It seems he might be right, since 3 of the 4 rappers I’ve mentioned are rap veterans and legends.
On the other hand, there’s the Emo and Goth crowd. Usually represented in the public eye by musicians like Marilyn Manson, this group has largely flown under the radar, outside of some South Park jokes. I suppose that, as they like to say, nobody truly understands them. However, it is easy enough to understand that they dress in black to emphasize the despair and rejection they claim to feel in life. Darkness of the clothes matches darkness of the soul.
So then, the question is, is there any similarity here? Could there possibly be any connection between veterans of the rap game like Nas and your average ol’ Goth kid? When Jay-Z wrote “Hard Knock Life,” was he hinting at a deeper sort of emotional pain? Probably not, but I think both groups are similar in that they use black to stress their disconnect from mainstream society. I think that when both groups deck themselves in all black, they are giving the finger to our “Let’s all be happy and peaceful” modern social philosophy. For rappers, black symbolizes swagger, power, violence and, for most, racial pride. For Emo kids, it means inner pain, torment, sadness, and rejection. In the mainstream fashion world, black is useful, but not in a monochromatic style. So, all-black outfits provide an edgy way for both these groups to assert themselves and their personalities.
Crappy article. Your view at the goth and the emo scene is too subjective.
Well thanks, but as you can probably tell from the second quote at the top of the page, I’m not trying to be objective at all. I don’t have any respect for the goth or emo movements at all, as I see them as a bunch of suburban kids who have everything that they could ask for in their lives, who pretend they have something legitimate to be depressed about in order to compensate for their underdeveloped social skills. So, that’s why I come across as overly subjective, its because I am. If my callousness hurt your feelings, them I’m sorry, but hey, c’est la vie.
goth and emo are just styles. If you don’t like that, just look away. The stereotypes developed around them are just randomly made up, and only applies to a few people.
Ok, sorry but I don’t buy the “just styles” thing for one minute. No matter who you are, your clothing is a reflection of your personality, whether its people wearing stuff that everyone else wears because they want to fit in, or deliberately not wearing what everyone else is wearing in order to resist conforming, or wearing whatever you put on that day because you simply dont care what people thing, your clothing is a reflection of how you see yourself. Some people might wear plaid shorts and flat-brimmed hats because they think they look cool, while some might wear studded belts because they think its bad-ass. Its all about how one seems him or herself.
For example, I personally wear a lot of zip-up jackets, dark jeans, polo shirts and the like. I wear it because I see myself as someone that balances academics and social life and I believe that what I wear reflects that. I’m aware of fashion, but I don’t try to be overly flashy. Therefore I tend to dress moderately, in between someone that tends to study all the time, thus doesn’t care as much about what they wear, and your stereotypical frat boy who has the flat-brimmed cap, the popped collar polo, and the entire get-up. So yes my wardrobe reflects who I see myself as, as a person.
So thats why I dont buy the “just style” argument. With such a unique style, that does have these stereotypes about it, you obviously chose it for some reason? So what was it? Do you think it says something about yourself as a person, or did you chose it because it helps you blend in with a certain group? What was it that made you pick this style?
BTW, if it at all sounds like im being demeaning or belittling in this response, I don’t mean it at all, I’m legitimately curious.
I have a black Tux! perhaps that has something to do with this?
You obviously have spent no time around goths or emos and have formed an opinion completely out of ignorance.
Fair enough, your point may or may not be true. As I said, I have little to no respect for the emo/goth movement. However, as you pointed out, my first-hand knowledge of the movement is not exactly profound. The thing is though, if you have an issue with what I’m saying, would you care to educate me on what Im missing/overlooking/ignoring? I feel like that would be a lot more productive for both me and you than simply dismissing me as ignorant and washing your hands of me. So whaddaya say?
hey kevin i think tom is right, and so is chan, thats just the way they want to live. im friends with goths and they are actually really friendly, and are just like you or me, they are not all about death and sorrow and eternal suffering (at least not all of them), so why should you have no respect for someone just because they dress different or (in some cases) have a different outlook on life, it is kinda ignorant
Hey man, first of all, I wanna thank you for the constructiveness of your comment. And I do agree with what you are saying, when I first wrote this article, I didn’t know that much about the Goth or Emo movement, so i was ignorant and I apologize for that.
However, I’m still wondering what is it about the movement, that people choose to dress this way or, if it is an outlook on life, what is that outlook. And I’ve been asking this question trying to understand the whole style, but I just feel like right now, I’m not getting any answers from anyone who is actually a part of the movement.