It seems as though every social media out there is posting ads and articles celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. While some of these posts seem to be overly-commercialized, as a hip-hop enthusiast I always appreciate when any sort of positive light is put on the culture that I have been fond of for the vast majority of my life.
So in the spirit of not feeling left out in honoring 50 years of hip-hop, this week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is "B-Ball Stance" which was designed by Clinker SierraGonz for The Clink Room. Outside of liking of few of @sierragonz_ posts on IG, I haven't interacted with them much but I'm a big fan of their work, especially the designs with Native American themes.
As far as USA themes go, I can't think of one more unequivocally American than hip-hop. After all we are talking about a culture that was born here in the States and has spread its reach all around the world. In the early days of hip-hop, making your mark stylistically always came through highlighting your individuality as opposed to your social class or status.
Innovators such as DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash created new sounds through the manipulation of records already in their hands out of necessity and there's something so pure about that level of resourcefulness and ingenuity that I have always admired deeply.
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| The four pillars of hip-hop are breakdancing, MC'ing, DJ'ing and graffiti and you can definitely tell that this baseball is a b-boy who can dance. I'm sure he's rocked the mic and/or turntables at a party or two and I would not be surprised if he's put up his tag on some subway cars at some point. |
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| I really dig the use of canary yellow on the undervisor here. It plays really nicely with the baby blue and everything looks great with the red visor, really. |
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| I've got another SierraGonz cap lined up for a future post so be on the lookout that one in the coming months. |
If you're an Instagram user, check out @sierragonz_ profile to see more designs from the Toronto-based artist. And if you're in the mood to learn more about the history of hip-hop, I recommend this article from NPR and this one from Carnegie Hall. Neither of those sites seem to be likely authorities on the culture but they actually do a great job presenting the history!
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| Finally, if you happen to be here in New York and are looking for something fun to do, might I recommend the Hip Hop 50 Live at Yankee Stadium. The cost of entry isn't cheap but if you have the cash to spend there's a lot of hip-hop royalty on that bill for you to see. |
While we are on the topic of anniversaries, I would be remiss to mention that my first ballcap related blogpost appeared here on August 11, 2011. I went on a pretty solid streak of chronicling my caps here for the next few months after that but sadly only posted once in 2012 before my triumphant return with my 1992 Seattle Mariners Cap post on August 16, 2013.
You'll see the blog's first ever mention of "Fresh Fitted Friday" on that Mariners post from 2013 which is a phrase I'm pleasantly surprised to learn is 10 years old already! The backstory there is I had a co-worker who asked if I bought a brand new hat for each blog post to which I jokingly replied "yes" however that might actually be the case now that I think about it!
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| Not that The Clink Room was even following me back in 2020 when their Fresh Preorders (now called Fresh Friday Preorders) program started but the pettiness in me is loving that I tacked some Freshness onto the "Fitted Friday" a full seven years ahead of them! |
This week's Fresh Fitted Friday selection is not going on the Trading Block however please don't hesitate to reach out if you want any other cap from that list and you are willing to part with any of the hats on my Wish List.
As always, thanks for coming back to read about baseball hat geekery. I've got comments disabled here so if you'd like to discuss a trade or simply just chat about hats, please feel free to connect via the following social sites:
Instagram: @baseballmilquetoast
Twitter: @FittedFriday
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