Photos: '04 Style Throwback
Von Dutch hats, crotchless jeans, road rage, gangsters, and David Lee Roth all make the list in our 2004 indie hip-hop style feature
Westside Connection
Photography by Michael Schreiber
Interview by Pat Canale
Styling by Roman Alexander Diaz for Beauty and Photo Assistant styling by Asha Mines
Grooming by Melanie Inglessis for Mercury Artists Shot at Photofighter Studios, LA
Editor’s note: This originally appeared in URB issue 119 (Beastie Boys cover) in September 2004. Edited for length.
Living Legends: Sunspot Jonz, The Grouch, Luckyiam.PSC
Most embarrassing item in your closet:
Sunspot Jonz: A couple of people I let stay there.
The Grouch: No-name shoes.
Luckyiam: A plaid suit jacket I wore on the cover of the Creative Differences album.
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
L: Trucker hats.
SJ: The big long jerseys that look like a dress, matched with the flat-brim bobblehead hats.
G: Yeah, definitely the hats with the flat bills and all the space on the sides that make kids look like bobblehead toys.
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
L: Dog tags.
G: Air Force Ones. Keep it classic.
SJ: Seedless pants, ’cause they got the inside pocket for your little stash of weed. You can get pulled over, and they’ll never know.
Style icon:
L: Kanye West — he stylin’. I like the way Jay-Z dresses.
G: The UPS man.
SJ: Myself.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
L: That there’s a lot of support for it.
G: That it’s all gangsta music.
SJ: That Dilated Peoples is the only underground hip-hop act out of LA.
Road-rage confession:
L: I threw D batteries at another car that just cut me off.
G: I don’t inflict road rage. I think I’m more the cause.
SJ: I got into an accident, a little fender bender. But I can’t talk about it; there’s a case going on right now with my insurance company.
The Diesel Truckers: Kool Keith and Kutmasta Kurt
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
Keith: Von Dutch hats.
Kurt: Swinging your T-shirt around over your head, Petey Pablo-style.
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
Keith: I like the one that I started way back in the day, the blazer with the jeans.
Kurt: The best has to be gold teeth.
Style icon:
Keith: Myself — there’s really nobody else out there.
Kurt: Slick Rick.
Best thing about LA:
Keith: The weather and the chicks that are always looking for stars.
Kurt: The weather.
Favorite song about LA:
Keith: “California Girls” by David Lee Roth.
Kurt: “Batter Ram” by Toddy T.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
Keith: That it’s only one style of rap here. They think it’s just G Funk.
Kurt: That it’s all Dr. Dre — that it’s only one certain sound.
Road-rage confession:
Keith: I was riding in a car, and I just threw an egg in this lady’s ride and kept going.
Kurt: I might’ve flipped someone off, but you’ve got to be careful because you don’t know who has a gun in their car.
Subtitle and Thavius Beck
Most embarrassing item in your closet:
S: A pink Nike Dri-Fit zip-up shirt made of lycra.
TB: A mesh fatigue rasta wifebeater.
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
TB: All the underground hip-hoppers and indie rockers are now like one and the same. Hip-hoppers wearing studded bracelets and stuff.
S: The bike messenger fashion — rolling the one pant leg up.
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
TB: Same thing — all the indie hip-hoppers and rockers getting together. If it can expose more people to music, they wouldn’t normally get into, that’s cool.
S: Gray hair. I got that.
Best thing about LA:
TB: All the people and opportunities.
S: Shannyn Sossamon.
Worst thing about LA:
S: The miles you have to cover to get from one end to the other.
TB: The fact that the fuckin’ Lakers lost.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
S: There are two. One is that we’re all a nurturing, peaceful scene. Two, that we’re just a hardcore gangster scene.
TB: That the underground is a big, happy family. People don’t get along that well, but we’re not all gangsters, either.
Road-rage confession:
S: I don’t drive, but in Barcelona, I choked out this guy for roadblocking our van.
TB: This dude hit my Geo Metro, and I spun around and ran into this bakery. He came out all drunk, like, “Oh, I’m so sorry.” I didn’t actually do anything about it, but that was fucked up.
Omid and Busdriver
Most embarrassing item in your closet:
O: A Coolin’ In Compton concert T-shirt with a black Bart Simpson in a Compton hat.
B: A Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf shirt I had to throw out because it left a painful mark. I didn’t enjoy working there.
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
O: Jheri curl.
B: Throwback jerseys with the caps that are too big, that fit down over your ears. It makes your head look like a little peanut.
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
B: The best hip-hop trend is just showin’ up.
O: Fat laces.
Style icon:
O: Dapper Dan.
B: Bobby McFerrin.
Best thing about LA:
O: All the talented musicians.
B: The traffic jams. I look forward to those.
Worst thing about LA:
B: All the talented people. It’s horrible. So much talent you can’t deal with it.
O: Not enough people that live in LA know about music coming out of LA.
Favorite song about LA:
O: “We’re All In The Same Gang” by West Coast Rap All-Stars.
B: NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.”
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
B: That it’s all gangsta rap.
O: People don’t know the history of the underground movement.
Road-rage confession:
B: I was so mad out of road rage that I wasn’t paying attention and hit a dog. It scarred me.
O: Shit, I get mad, but I don’t kill anything.
Pigeon John
Most embarrassing item in your closet:
My wife’s vibrator.
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
Big, extra-long T-shirts that cover your whole thighs. The dress shirt, literally.
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
Crotchless Diesel jeans coming out in 2006 (2023 editor’s note: Sadly, this prediction failed to materialize).
Style icon:
The young David Bowie.
Favorite song about LA:
“California” by Phantom Planet.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
That we’re all a bunch of punks, and we don’t really carry guns. But come, and you’ll see, punk.
Road-rage confession:
I flipped someone off, and they retaliated by throwing a full water bottle at my car.
Wildchild and Medaphoar
Best hip-hop fashion trend:
W: The Puma line. I still like the old-school jumpsuits ’cause I started as a B-boy.
M: White tees, creased jeans, white shoes. The clean look. Just some plain shit.
Style icon:
W: Common. He’s taking risks; he’s trying to be different. That’s dope.
M: Puffy. Nigga got stuff in his closet for every event.
Best thing about LA:
W: The nightlife — straight-up clubbin’ Hollywood lifestyle.
M: The people, the diversity — there’s so many different cultures.
Favorite song about LA:
W: “Los Angeles Times” by Xzibit.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
W: That West Coast music is on the gangster mode. M: That it’s gangsta rap.
Road-rage confession:
W: This guy cut me off when I was driving with my daughter in the car. I followed him for a good 40 minutes.
M: I threw a cassette through somebody’s car window and hit ’em.
Styles of Beyond: Ryu, Takbir, DJ Cheapshot
Most embarrassing item in your closet:
C: I don’t have a closet. That’s embarrassing.
T: I just wear T-shirts and jeans, man. I don’t really have shit that could be embarrassing.
R: My Lakers jersey since we lost in the finals.
Worst hip-hop fashion trend:
R: Von Dutch hats. I don’t know if it’s hip-hop, but it’s bad.
T: Just jerseys, period.
C: T-Mobile Sidekick on the belt and the Gumby haircut.
Style icon:
R: Fat Joe! Don Cartagena.
T: Puff Daddy. Fucker’s got style, every style.
C: Marky Mark.
Worst thing about LA:
T: Burgers. Bad burgers in LA.
R: LA hip-hop fans, ’cause they’re fuckin’ bored all the time.
C: Styles of Beyond.
Biggest misconception about LA hip-hop:
R: That’s everything’s gangsta.
T: Or that everything’s not gangsta. It could go both ways.
C: If you didn’t live in LA, you’d think it’s all gangsta, which it’s not.
Road-rage confession:
T: I threw a water bottle at someone’s windshield.
R: I chased a car down with my baby in the back seat, then pulled over and hit their car with a Megadeth CD.
C: I totally flipped someone off once, but they didn’t even see it.
The End…
