The Origins of Sagging Your Jeans…
by: Jennifer D. Carroll
As a young lady in her early thirties, I do remember a time when men in hip hop wore their jeans tight. Not tight, tight. But tight enough that the ladies could see if he had a nice booty.
This was not a long-ago, mythical age. I’m talking the ’80s to about the early ’90s. Back then it was pretty standard to see a man with (gasp!) pants that actually fit!
However, something happened around the late ’80s and early ’90s which marked a significant change in urban communities and the resulting fashion choices of urban youth around the country.
If I wasn’t in the rap game,
I’d probably have a key, knee deep in the crack game
because the streets is a short stop
either you’re slangin’ crack rock
or you’ve got a wicked jump shot…
-Back in the Days, Notorious B.I.G.
Crack.
Crack took hold of inner-city communities across the country, and young men were being sent to prison in record numbers; mainly stemming from drug-related charges. In prison these young men were indoctrinated into a new way of dress which included unintentional sagging of their pants. Prisoners wear their pants low because belts are not allowed. Belts, (and shoe strings for that matter) are considered to be at-risk items as they can (and have) been used to strangle others or oneself, or used as a weapon in fights.
When the men were released from prison they kept the look, as a means to mark oneself as someone who had been locked up and therefore had street credibility. The trend soon spread and made its way to hip hop. Gone were the fitted jeans of the early ’80s…in came sagging jeans.
During the late ’80s, the group N.W.A. brought in the era of gangsta rap, a new hip hop genre that mirrored the thoughts and reality of urban inner cities. To my knowledge and recollection, N.W.A. was the first popular hip hop group to sag their pants. Eazy E. in particular could be found in jeans that were both loose fitting and sagging slightly to reveal an upper portion of his boxers. N.W.A. was one of the pioneers who helped shepherd this style into the mainstream of urbanwear.
Girl: “Eazy, why you wear your pants like that?
Eazy E: “I wear my pants like this – for easy access baby”
- We Want Eazy – N.W.A.
That statement became one of Eazy E’s more controversial lines when seven years later he died from complications of A.I.D.S. During the early ’90s HIV and AIDS carried the stigma of being a gay man’s disease. Rumors started swirling, alleging that Eazy E had contracted AIDS through homosexual contact with a man. Adding to this theory was the popularly held notion that one of the ways that homosexuals make themselves known in prison is by sagging their pants slightly below the butt.
My pants sag cause I rap my ass off - Strike a Nerve, Naughty by Nature
Given the slightly homophobic nature of hip hop, it has been interesting to watch this former jailhouse mating call, progress into a diehard hip hop fashion statement. Over the past couple of years, it has become de rigeur in rap shows to have someone throw off their shirt and bounce across the stage barechested, pants sagging all the way.
Personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a slight sag. In fact, an ever so slight sag with a nice pair of jeans to me is a sexy, masculine look.
However, if you are trying to appeal to the fairer sex in a pair of jeans that hang down at the low point of your hip…um, not so much. Ladies, am I right?
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Big Al says:
February 19th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Back in High school in LA (circa ‘86) we used to sag with our belts on,and we didn’t show our boxers either. We sagged with wife beaters over boxers for a clean look.
Lou says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:35 am
They all loo gay, and they have no respect for themselves in my opinion
skaterboy says:
May 1st, 2009 at 8:51 am
i sag my pants too
all my friends are skaters ( i'm a skater too ) and we all sag our pants under our but
( but saging )
PopCulture says:
May 16th, 2009 at 4:26 am
you wanna know what sagging is all about? check this video… pay close attention around the 2 minute mark…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-JjldxU-pA
Los Angeles says:
May 26th, 2009 at 1:25 am
"Let that be known. I'm a warrior"
I believe him. His demeanor is revealing and convincing. I believe him.
otunba says:
May 29th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
which country did sagging and low waist jeans pants originated from
otunba says:
May 29th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
anyone can please help me and mail the result to me via my email femmyjulius@yahoo.com thanks
which country did sagging and low waist jeans originated from
WALTERLEE says:
June 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
THAT IS WHERE I DISAGREE,HOW DOES SAGGING SHOW THAT I DONT RESPECT MYSELF. I FIND PEOPLE LIKE LOU QUITE ENTERTAINING WITH YOUR NARROW-MINDEDNESS. I RESPECT MYSELF IM QUITE INTELLIGENCE AND NOT GAY AT ALL. I UNDERSTAND THAT MAYBE BACK IN YOUR DAY,IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN FROWNED UPON BUT NEW DAY NEW STYLES. I DO RESPECT YOUR OPINION,BUT I FIND THAT IT SHOWS IGNORANCE.
Andre says:
June 11th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
by the way, the name of that biggie song isn't "back in the days", it's "things done changed"
guess jeans says:
June 12th, 2009 at 1:04 am
i personally used those hip hop jeans but not to the point that its over, i don't like the feeling of over reacting, over wearing cause they became improper.
brianca says:
June 24th, 2009 at 6:20 am
i am a girl and i don't really like sagging of the pants i don't think that you will be uneducated if you do but there is a aterotype if you do that your a thug and uneducated and i would not want to be in that categorie so i don't belive in saggin.and somebody told me this do you notice when we spell niggas you get saggin and study show most of the african cultural sags there pants.study tested sorry
macus says:
July 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
DUDE SAGGING IS GAY PERIOD!!!!!!!
marcus says:
July 17th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-JjldxU-pA
DUDE ITS STR* GAY TO SAG!!! NICE ASS DUDE IT WHAT DUDE WILL BE THINKIN WHEN PASS BY
Philcon says:
September 6th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
It's true, people who dot't know their history are bound to repeat it.The origin of sagging goes back to slavery, Black men were not allowed to have shirts to show off the scars from beatings an other abuses as a deterent to others who might commit the same offenses. also it was hard to run while holding up your pants. and also belts could be used as weapons to kill other slaves who were considered to be valuable farm equipment, or to commit suicide. It later became a way for prisoners to show that they belonged to someone else. Besides does anyone think people of success got where they are by looking like that? (pres. Obama) sure didn't!!!!
Billy White says:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Yall are some punk ass niggas. WHITE POWER.
STASIZ says:
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
in life everything will have so many different meanings. men with long hair for instance. hippie from the 70s or crossdresser buffalo bill, only dorks who live in the subburbs leave the biased comments, real killa thugs wear fitted jeans so the gun dont slip you can put the gun in the small of your back? ooh but does that mean you like hard things near your ass?people are so lame for real what buisness is it of any of yalls to question us? gay men always look at life threw a sexual nature.
angelino says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:35 am
To be clear with sagging and teen age clothing behaviour please read this article in Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS2...
ANGELINO says:
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:37 am
U.S.A.
PLEASE READ
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS2...
solas lethe says:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
first of all i dont care if you want to dress a certain way…thats your perogative….its not a gay thing and its not an expression of stupidity….what i think it is is conformaty….like women men need to immpress other men..women need to impress other women..you think that loud music commin from your cool car immpresses a woman ?? hell no men have huge speakers and big cool cars and certain cloths to say hey man im cool too..its the way its always been kinda like 2 peacock mails flashin their feathers at eachother..theyre sayin yeah im hot so what…just like woman with their purses and shoes and designer things… men dont care about that stuff so its obviously woman say yeah im hotter than you and crap like that….to be honest i think men and women need to stop tryin to impress the same sex as competition and try to impress the oppiosite sex instead…then maybe men wont blast their music and dress nicer and women would calm down with the shoppin and attitudes and the world would be grrrreeaaaatttttt!!!!!!