![]() That competitive sexiness came to a head in the middle of the decade when the world met Lil Kim and Foxy Brown. Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images The competitive sexiness of Foxy Brown and Lil Kim Ten years later, they had evolved their wardrobe to include short shorts, bustiers, and crop tops to ramp up the competitive sexiness.Īmerican rapper Foxy Brown attends the 4th Annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California, 3rd September 1998. In their 1986 debut, the mighty Salt ‘n Pepa engineered one of the most instantly recognizable hip-hop looks with leather bomber jackets, kente kufis, black spandex pants, and flat-soled knee boots. But for the most part, reinvention was necessary for the art and for relevance. There was also Queen Latifah in her African-print regalia and aesthetically mature suits (although she’d adopt a more tomboy look with the release of 1993’s Black Reign), and Lauryn Hill and her eclectic, vibey boho glam. Da Brat dropped Funkdafied in 1994 to make history as the first solo female rapper to go platinum, and she navigated most of the ‘90s in sneakers and baggy jeans. A small sorority was successful just being themselves. From the South, there was Trina as the budding Diamond Princess in her blinged-out choker, belt, and bikini top, and TLC in their baggy, crayon-colored streetwear (“we pride ourselves on being prissy tomboys,” member Chilli once said). But there was also Eve, self-proclaimed “pitbull in a skirt,” the sole woman in the hypermasculine Ruff Ryders who bridged the transition into a new millennium with Philly girl sophistication and cropped hair (first platinum blonde, then brilliant red). There was Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets - the only female rapper in her three-member crew - pretty, demure and outfitted regularly in big, plaid shirts that swallowed her petite frame. They played around with it as just one component of their personhood, experimented with it as an articulation of their sexuality and womanness, and accessed it as a platform to blend in or stand out. Still, some women rappers found their voice in fashion as much as they did in music. Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Eve and TLC experimented with fashion to articulate their sexuality and womanness Rapper Eve attends the Second Annual MTV Rock and Bowl on Jat Universal Studios in Universal City, California. Too girly and they risked being tokenized as eye candy too one-of-the-guys and their womanhood was overlooked almost completely to make room for their talent. The decade was also the first time so many female rappers experienced commercial and crossover success, and the blending of R&B hooks, samples, and production softened the sound as they and their style teams worked to pretty-up their tough facades. As a decade, the ‘90s were a wild timeline of hip-hop style evolutions spanning the bright, oversized everything of Cross Colours, the upper echelons of sleek Gucci and Prada sexiness, and streetwear - and all of it was led by Black women who were simultaneously artists and tastemakers. You have to have astronomical amounts of personality or confidence (or both) to absorb the gaze of thousands of onlookers when you’re wearing, let’s say, a towering, two-foot-tall headwrap a la Erykah Badu in her Baduizm era. ![]() It’s crucial to its cultural integrity and as definitive to fashion edicts and trends as lyrics and delivery. Bravado and self-belief are part of the house that hip-hop built. I have a hand on one jutted-out hip, bright red lipstick lined with ubiquitous brown pencil, and a face full of “Girl, you killin’ it.” I’d always considered myself chubby and unremarkable, but at that moment? Chile, I was feeling me: channeling the ‘90s hip-hop fashion that women rappers and singers defined and redefined during the decade. ![]() My confidence is part of the photo’s endearing humor. Try to tell that girl in the picture that she ain’t that girl and you would have surely failed. Blige and her dancers in the “Real Love” video. ![]() But the pièce de resistance is a black Yankees cap with a hole I strategically cut to allow my wispy ponytail to escape out the top, a look fully inspired by Mary J. In it, I’m 13, maybe 14 years-old, and I’m wearing a short, white tennis skirt, gold-plated door knockers, and unlaced Timbs. There’s an undated picture of vintage me in my grandmother’s family photo album that’s so retro, ‘90s Black girl, it’s hilarious and historical at the same time.
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