1990s Hip-Hop Hairstyles
Hip-hop in the 1990s was synonymous with black youth culture. Hair was an important part of that culture. Hair in the black community has always made a statement about the person who's wearing it or the current social climate. Black athletes who protested during the Olympics in the 1970s proudly wore puffed-out afros. Rastafarians wear dreadlocks as a part of a religious statement. In the 1990s, hair was a representation of a growing and maturing hip-hop culture. From high-top fades to long braids, hair helped brand a generation. Does this Spark an idea?
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High-Top Fade
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The high-top fade became one of the most iconic symbols of hip-hop. The sides and back of the head were cut bald or extremely low. The top was longer and shaped like a box. After the style caught on, the hair on top got taller and taller. Soon, people started cutting slopes in the high top and coloring it with streaks. Rap icons like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Kid 'n Play helped to popularize the style.
Tapered Afro
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The tapered afro was born out of the boredom with high-top fades, as well as the reluctance to cut the hair that you had been growing for so long. The afro was a re-hash of the style worn in the 1970s. The 1990s version was tapered on the side and in the back in a circular form. Hair that had started to grow back in from the faded parts of the high-top fade were smoothed down and rounded off with the top of the hair to look like a bubble emerging from the head. Rappers like Craig Mack who had huge hits and national exposure helped popularize the style.
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Long Braids
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For women, one of the most popular hair styles in the hip-hop world was long braids. Long, thick braids were weaved into the woman's hair with hair extensions. The extensions were black, blond, black with blond streaks, or sometimes red. Janet Jackson and Regina King sported the hairstyle in the movie "Poetic Justice." The rapper Yo-Yo also wore long braids throughout the 90s.
Cornrows
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Cornrows is another hairstyle that is a throwback from the 1970s and even earlier. Women in hip-hop started wearing corn rows as a style earlier in the decade because hip-hop wasn't quite open to display of femininity. This didn't start to change until Lil Kim and Foxy Brown broke boundaries in 1996. Cornrows for men as a fashion statement in the 1990s also has its roots in the high-top fade. Those who didn't want to get rid of the hair they had grown braided their hair in even rows on the top of their head. Cornrows was one of the first signs that hip-hop was starting to go mainstream, as professional basketball players like Allen Iverson sported their braids on the court.
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