Hip Hop and Consuming Culture

In the Hip Hop lecture, Nabeel talked about several elements of Hip Hop culture. One of these elements mentioned was conspicuous consumption. In terms of fashion, Hip Hop style is casual but full of accessories. Caps, bandannas and the blings of course. Many male Hip Hop stars wear excessive amount of blings in their music videos. Recent Hip Hop music videos have been a popular way for top brands to market their products. Dolce & Gabbana sun glasses have been shot in close-ups in many popular Hip Hop music videos such as “Check On It” – Beyonce and “I’m a Flirt” – R. Kelly. They were shot in close-ups on purposes to advertise for Dolce & Gabbana. Not only the Hip Hop stars are obsessed with conspicuous consumption, they are trying to get all the fans to do the same by promoting all sorts of products for top brands. I think Hip Hop is becoming too commercialized, especially after the introduction of music videos. People used to love the music and love dancing to it. Now days, there are less Hip Hop music videos featuring brilliant dance moves. Instead, most Hip Hop music videos are set in a club featuring women doing erotic dancing or them dancing around male singers who have Dolce & Gabbana glasses on. They are almost like ads now. There aren’t many dance moves to watch or learn from Hip Hop music videos, therefore, people probably start to watch them for fashion tips. Nabeel said Hip Hop is probably one of the most important cultural movement in the last century, well probably one of the most influential fashion icon too.