When we pick up our favorite magazine to read, do the images stand out in an influential or even impactful way? At first, the pictures don’t have any meaning to us, but it can be said they have a significant effect on how individuals dress and even act. It is in the issue of VIBE magazine from December 1994 to January 1995 that we see this work in an interesting way for those immersed in the culture of Hip-Hop: African-Americans. The images here appeal to both African-American men and women in a way that idealized the adult life of celebrities and even pushed for the unity of all African-Americans, just as Afrika Bambaataa spoke of with his famous Zulu Nation. The first thing that becomes apparent when reading the magazine is the constant
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148 been any smaller or placed in a less convenient place than it already is, the mere existence of it would have gone unnoticed whilst reading it. Before detailing its importance of the image in the magazine, let’s review what the Zulu Nation itself stood for. Afrika Bambaataa described the Zulu as those who “celebrated the instinct for survival and creation. Living young and free in the Bronx was a revolutionary act of art.” The appearance of the advertisement is in itself so intriguing because Afrika Bambaataa was one of the key people that brought about the Hip-Hop Revolution, and it’s surprising to see something that important to Hip-Hop still around. The fact that an advertisement for the Zulu Nation appears in a magazine at this point in time (1994-5) shows how high of regard those in VIBE respect the Zulu Nation for giving the Hip-Hop revolution its roots. However, the size and location of the advertisement is a little misleading based upon the fact of where it is in the magazine: the very …show more content…
In the book, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Chang makes a point to address how Kool Herc’s style was so popular that many DJ’s and crews came to adopt his style. This provides an excellent example of how what mainstream culture was viewed. It was as if DJ Kool Herc’s style was almost copied and pasted onto an entirely brand new age of youth. This has been the central point of my argument, and now can be comparatively viewed with the beginning of Hip-Hop also influencing the youth, the only difference being that what is done in the VIBE magazine is done when consumerism became a central part of the Hip-Hop
148 been any smaller or placed in a less convenient place than it already is, the mere existence of it would have gone unnoticed whilst reading it. Before detailing its importance of the image in the magazine, let’s review what the Zulu Nation itself stood for. Afrika Bambaataa described the Zulu as those who “celebrated the instinct for survival and creation. Living young and free in the Bronx was a revolutionary act of art.” The appearance of the advertisement is in itself so intriguing because Afrika Bambaataa was one of the key people that brought about the Hip-Hop Revolution, and it’s surprising to see something that important to Hip-Hop still around. The fact that an advertisement for the Zulu Nation appears in a magazine at this point in time (1994-5) shows how high of regard those in VIBE respect the Zulu Nation for giving the Hip-Hop revolution its roots. However, the size and location of the advertisement is a little misleading based upon the fact of where it is in the magazine: the very …show more content…
In the book, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, Chang makes a point to address how Kool Herc’s style was so popular that many DJ’s and crews came to adopt his style. This provides an excellent example of how what mainstream culture was viewed. It was as if DJ Kool Herc’s style was almost copied and pasted onto an entirely brand new age of youth. This has been the central point of my argument, and now can be comparatively viewed with the beginning of Hip-Hop also influencing the youth, the only difference being that what is done in the VIBE magazine is done when consumerism became a central part of the Hip-Hop