August 28, 2025 • 33 mins
Queue Points hosts DJ Sir Daniel and Jay Ray drop the needle on the artists who didn’t just make hits, they made fashion history. Starting with hip-hop’s scrappy, innovative origins in New York, the duo explores how rappers turned limited resources into unforgettable looks, and how that style evolved from block to stage to runway.
The picks are personal and cultural:
- Slick Rick’s Windrush-inspired elegance and gleaming opulence
- Foxy Brown’s off-the-rack-made-high-fashion era
- Lil’ Kim’s era-defining fashion moments
- Lauryn Hill’s timeless, covered-yet-commanding sophistication
- Queen Latifah’s regal consistency
- Digable Planets’ bohemian-militant cool
- Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) as the global-vintage dandy who expanded the rapper silhouette
- Heavy D’s big-and-fly blueprint that changed representation for a generation
Honorable mentions go to Kool Moe Dee’s leather-and-shades era and Missy Elliott’s visionary, purpose-built style. Plus, the hosts share their first fashion buys (Flavor Flav-inspired stopwatch and a bootleg Nike sweatshirt) and talk Dapper Dan, Wallabees, 54-11s (Reebok Freestyles), and the commerce of hip-hop chic.
Who’s on your list of flyest rappers? Drop your picks in the comments and keep the convo going.
Chapter Markers
00:00 Intro Theme
00:16 Introduction and Hosts' Fashion Philosophy
01:13 Most Fashionable Hip Hop Artists
01:57 Slick Rick: The Style Icon
07:14 Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim: Queens of Hip Hop Fashion
14:14 Lauryn Hill and Queen Latifah: Timeless Elegance
19:10 Personal Fashion Inspirations
29:26 Honorable Mentions and Conclusion
33:29 Outro Theme
Support Queue Points By Becoming An Insider: https://link.queuepoints.com/membership
#HipHopFashion #HipHopHistory #BlackFashion #Streetwear
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sir Daniel (00:16):
Greetings and welcome back to another episode of Queue Points podcast.
I'm DJ Sir Daniel.
Jay Ray (00:21):
And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my governments
as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III.
What's happening people?
Sir Daniel (00:29):
Jay Ray, I, you know, I can honestly say that we might be
the two of the flyest podcasters outhere because although we're similar,
we serve different looks at times.
And if you go back into our fashionhistory, uh, Queue Points, fashion
history, you could tell that wheneverwe show what we represent at.
And, uh, of course I saythat it's a little tongue in
cheek, but it's true though.
(00:51):
We, I think we, we represent and wecan definitely represent wherever
we go, but I must say Jay Ray, thatwhen it comes to the, the catalogs of
superstars and rock stars throughoutthe history, I will say that rap music
has pro produced some of the flyestindividuals on the planet Earth.
(01:13):
And so what we wanted to do inthis particular episode of Queue
Points is Jay Ray and I wantedto go back and forth and discuss.
Who we believe.
Who's in our top five?
I know y'all like to have theseMount Rushmore conversations.
We're over there.
Jay, Ray and I are beyond that.
We've had those conversations.
You guys are late right now.
(01:34):
What we want to talk about is who isn'tlate and we're talking about fashions
fashion wise, who are our top fivemost fashionable hip hop rap artist?
So, Jay Ray, uh, I want, I'm, I'm.
Ooh, I'm, so, I'm itching to hear who'son your list, so please hit me with your,
one of your first, uh, hip hop rap stars.
Jay Ray (01:56):
Yo.
So, um, the first person I thought of whenthinking of this topic was Slick Rick.
Is he on your list too?
Sir Daniel (02:09):
I told you there was gonna be some
Jay Ray (02:10):
I didn't even thought.
I was like, I don't know.
I
Sir Daniel (02:13):
But listen, we, what did I say at the top of this episode?
Jay Ray and I are on it.
We are very fashionable in our ownway and style, recognizes style and
slick Rick absolutely embodies style.
Go ahead.
Tell us why you, why he'syour, um, first pick.
Jay Ray (02:31):
And, and, and I think that's it.
So, um, Rick.
Was able to ride the wave of allthe different versions of kind of
hip hop, which was really dope.
So when we think of him in those earlyyears, we think of him in the suit.
We think of him with the dark sunglasses,of course, with the kgo, right?
(02:51):
And then as he gets a little more,you know what I'm saying, a little
more shine, you still get the soup.
But then there's like these chains.
Are everywhere.
And then the rings like, he'slike, he looks literally like the
most grand minister from a blackchurch that you would ever see.
(03:11):
Right.
You know what I mean?
Absolutely.
And so, and then still being ableto flow with a sweatsuit flow with
like Slick Rick to this day is justalways like, you could tell that.
Um, color.
You could tell that fabric, youcould tell that the way things
(03:35):
fall on him like matters to him.
So that tailoring is always together.
So, absolutely.
One of the first peopleI thought of was slick.
Rick, what about for,from your standpoint,
Sir Daniel (03:47):
So, uh, like we, like I said, slick Rick is one of the first people
I thought of as well, and he slick.
Rick resonates with me on severallevels because he represents.
Um, fashion that was inspiredby the wind rush generation.
And if you go back and listen to ourepisode, when we spoke about the, we spoke
(04:09):
about the, um, the black immigrants thatmoved to, that migrated to England in
the, in the early fifties, late sixties.
That slick Rick waspart of that wind rush.
Generation.
And when you look back at picturesof them, west Indian people always
stepped out when it was time to party.
There was a lot of blue collar peoplethat did blue collar work, service
(04:31):
work, but when they stepped out,they put on their finest and, and
which is universal to black peopleno matter where you come from.
Uhhuh, okay, is we're gonna step outand we're gonna put on our finest.
But there was also.
A uniform of a crisp shirt witha collar a, a popped up collar,
you know, a couple chains.
(04:51):
Um, the, the, the very wellcreased and fitted pants.
We love the sharp crease.
So, uh, and his, um,fashions, um, reflected that.
But what also slick Rick also means to,to me, is he resonated with me because he.
Started a trend amongst young men inthe hood that would, if they got a
(05:16):
piece of money, they got a piece ofcoin to go look for something to wear.
You know, they would take cues fromRick because, oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna
look fly if Rick can look fly in a suit.
And still be chill, but doesn't looklike a stuffy businessman on Wall Street.
I can do that too.
So then you have people going down tothe Lancey Street and other pla and you
(05:37):
know, getting your suit from Alexander's.
Like, I, I always tell the storyof how my mother would take me to
Alexander's every spring for new suit.
And so that's put in our DNA.
So if you could take that suit.
And then, and go to the, and getyou a kgo, a pair of Clarks or
some wallabies, uh, which theWu-Tang brought back, um, 20 years.
(05:59):
Well, yeah, about 20 yearslater, they brought that back and
started rocking the Wallabies.
Um, you can feel fly.
Not have spent a lot of money.
And, but yes, the opulence also,oh my God, the gold chains, the,
the un the un, the reveal of thegold chains is, is so dramatic
from the gold chains to his wrist.
(06:21):
Um, the gold teeth, all of it worked.
All of it worked.
It was, yes, it was gaudy, butit was gaudy in a good way.
And, and yes, so that's, that's why he'slike one of my very, the very first.
That just embodies fly.
Jay Ray (06:39):
Yeah, no.
Um, I wanna stop there 'cause we couldliterally spend an entire show talking
about Rick's those that adornment.
Right?
Um,
and it is still, I do wanna say this.
That's important, right?
So all the people that I picked,and I'm sure you have this too,
(07:00):
um, they're all kind of different.
They all had their ownthing, you know what I mean?
So my second person that I, I, I, uh,have on the list, and I'm surprised when
I get to this you'll, you'll see it.
But I have more women than Ihave men, which is interesting.
But my second person onthe list is Foxy Brown.
Sir Daniel (07:18):
I see that I.
Jay Ray (07:20):
so what's, what really appealed to me about Fox is of course
she arrives in hip hop as the seachange of hip hop is happening, right?
In particular.
Um, the money that's in the game at thatmoment, the level of celebrity that's in
(07:41):
the game in that moment, and how we'vekind of moved away from, uh, kind of the
black power, uh, conscious moment in hiphop into a more fashion forward moment.
Um, yeah, so I see, uh,I see Kevin and Fox.
Of course they're in the same lane, butthey're doing very different things.
Sir Daniel (08:05):
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jay Ray (08:05):
I felt Kim, and this is not a bad, this is not a dig at Kim.
I felt like Kim was much morecostume in the presentation.
Much more.
Hmm.
Different word, much more, um, artfulin the presentation of her, the way she
showed up, you know, with the, the, thecolorful hair and the, the, the, the,
(08:28):
the shiny whatever, bling, blings, right?
You could tell that people were making,making custom pieces for her, whereas
Fox, there was like off the rack fashion,but elevated, you know what I mean?
So I felt like as a dark skin.
As a dark-skinned woman rocking these, youknow, rocking the Calvin Kline's later,
(08:50):
of course the Christian Diors of course.
You know what I'm saying?
And yeah.
And you know, furs and, you know, kindof all of that really kind of showed
women that, you know, black women.
Could be black women in hip hop.
Could be high fashion too.
You know what I mean?
It doesn't have to be your KateMoss and just your Tyra Banks.
(09:13):
These like model model girls, like hiphop girls could rock these clothes and
bring these clothes up too, because.
Sisters saw Fox rocking these, uh,rocking these brands and were like,
oh, I want a piece of this too.
And then these brands start comingto her and started being like, oh,
(09:33):
you're gonna be the muse for this line.
So, um.
I think Foxy Brown really did, especiallyin her heyday, we're talking about
the mid, particularly in the latenineties, really, when that second album
hit through the early two thousands.
Foxy Brown was one to watch froma fashion perspective as a woman.
Sir Daniel (09:53):
Oh, 100%.
I totally agree.
And it's so, again, our choicesmirror each other because my pick.
Is Lil Kim.
And so, and it's so funny in, in, in allof our Queue Points history, whenever
we've discussed one, we typically endup discussing the other, which is, but
(10:14):
what we do, what I'm very proud of us fordoing is that when we speak of them, we
speak of them not just in glowing terms,but we speak of them in their strengths.
What they bring to the gameand how they change the game.
Now, Lil Kim, of course, is a standoutto me because she, so when I say,
when we talk about who's the flyest,um, Kim and is well documented, Kim
(10:41):
is the, that girl in the hood who.
You, you saw her, whether she was wearingsome acid wash jeans that were ripped
with a Coca-Cola shirt and the 54 elevens.
If you know, you know what 54elevens are, if she's rocking
the 54 elevens, she's got.
(11:02):
She had now, she had, she had, uh,and those are, those are inexpensive,
but she had a, a Gucci purse.
Now the purse was a, was moreexpensive than the whole outfit.
And so what I'm saying is those girlsalways had an eye of flare for fashion.
They may not have necessarily beenable to afford it that the time until,
you know, you met the neighborhoodbooster, you got your pieces
(11:24):
that way, but they were able to.
To carry on that tradition.
And I must say Kim carried on a traditionthat, that Roxanne Shante started, like
if we look back at, at pictures of Shawneewhen she was on the, come up, when she
was a young girl, Shante was rockingfurs, she was rocking, uh, golden leathers
(11:46):
and you know, had custom pieces as well.
Um, but to your pointabout Little Kim, when the.
When her star was on the uptick in,you know, the fashion houses started
noticing her and her wide appeal.
This, of course, they came lookingto her and for, and gave her
statement pieces, but I think.
(12:08):
Along with what she wore, Kim gaveKim would have fashion moments
with wearing next to nothing.
And that says a lot, like a lot ofher fashion, huge fashion moments.
I think of specifically that.
Um, I think it's a Louis Vuittonmoment in the backseat of a, of a,
a Bentley where she's got her handscovering her, um, her breasts, but
(12:31):
she has nothing on, but this one.
Wide fedora style hat with a,a plume with a feather in it.
And, but, and a, a pair of nasty,um, what ankle boots, I think they
were, but she's completely naked.
But that was a whole fashion moment,you know, I mean, and so to me.
Anyone that can come alongand completely upset the game.
(12:53):
Turn people turn the turn, um, everyfunction upside down when they arrive.
Uh, have the, uh, paparazzi lookingto see what you're wearing, um,
on constantly on magazine covers.
You're not just, I. Uh, um, you're notjust a, a, hmm, how am I gonna say this?
(13:15):
You're not just a, a rapperwho just happens to be fly.
You literally are a fashion moment.
You are a fashion moment.
You are, you, she, I know it's beensaid a million times before, but she
really completely changed the game and,um, especially the commerce aspect of.
(13:35):
Hip hop.
And so to, to me, all of that combined iswhat makes her one of my top five flys.
I mean, it kind of goes without saying,but there's, there's some real meat and
potatoes behind that, behind that pick.
And I think everybodyout there would agree.
But, um.
So, so, okay.
So since we're still talking aboutwomen in rap, there's somebody else
(13:59):
who, and this, I have to say, seeingher at the Met Gala this past Met
gala really, really reminded me of howmuch of a fashion plate this woman is.
I'm gonna, I'm giving it up to Laury Hill.
Jay Ray (14:16):
Sh fashion icon.
Sir Daniel (14:19):
on the lowest of keys has been eating, as the kids say,
has been eating the girls up leftand right on the lowest of keys.
Like she doesn't like, she doesn'tdo, you know, she's not splashy like
Cameron Fox, but when you see Lauren.
Lauren has on, might have on somevintage pieces, some custom, and
(14:43):
to her, to her, um, to her credit,she's always remained covered.
I noticed She's alwaysremained covered now.
And that's in her later years nowwhen, you know, now when she was you,
you know, el buggy, you know, uh, cop.
What, what she used to call herselfpop diesel or something like that.
Back in the day, one of her nicknames,you know, she was also quite fashionable.
(15:04):
You know, they, they were gap kids.
Uh, I remember she made squirts look fly,and if you, if you know, you know, she,
um, from the hair with the, you know,the, the twists and the, the, the knots.
And then she finally just, um, went.
Full, um, dreads, well,excuse me, went full locks.
(15:26):
And Lauren has low key been a fashionmovement in her own right for years.
I have never seen her performpost, post miseducation.
I've never seen her perform onstage without a pair of heels.
And that's, and that's saying something.
And, you know, you wouldthink that she would not be.
(15:49):
But mama has never stepped onstage without a nasty heel.
Jay Ray (15:52):
Nah, Lauren is, you are absolutely right.
I will never, um, forget, uh, therewas the roots picnic, so this is like.
2012, then you could watch this video
Sir Daniel (16:06):
Yes.
Jay Ray (16:07):
Shoot, she came out in the white little dress and I was like, we
be forgetting that that girl Laurenis going to give you fresh style.
Okay.
At all times.
Nope.
Highly agree.
And we gonna stay in Jersey since we here,um, because Queen Latifah is on my list.
Sir Daniel (16:29):
she is.
Jay Ray (16:29):
And my this, um, Dana Owens has always from dance for
me on down, um, has always stuckto a signature style, but as her.
(16:51):
Star has risen, like everything abouther style has also risen with it.
And so there's always been the,um, consistency around, uh, the
celebration of her blackness,especially her black womanhood.
Right.
Dana has always shown up, uh, royally.
(17:14):
On camera, even on tv, even when youwould watch Living Single, right?
It was like, you could tell that whoeverwas styling her also was like, okay,
this is like Queen Latifah style.
You know what I mean?
On television.
But I think, um, speaking of the MetGala, I remember when her and, uh,
her partner showed up on that redcarpet at the, the Met Gala last year.
(17:37):
And it was just like, yo, this woman.
Knows how to turn heads,you know what I mean?
So, and what I love about, uh, whatI love about Queen Latifah's style,
even when I watch the equalizer, itis one, we talked about this a lot.
Hair is never outta place.
Sir Daniel (17:58):
The, the hair needs a moment by itself.
Jay Ray, the hair is a moment by itself.
I don't understand why she, I know she'sdone covergirl for makeup and you know,
faces face card is always on 10, butI am so surprised she never had some
type of, um, relaxer deal or somethingwas not on the cover of somebody's box
(18:21):
because like to your point, that hair was.
Always, always laid to this day.
It's always laid.
Even when she, even when she firstcame out and she had it cut short,
you know, like a typical basketball,um, female basketball player, cut
short, curly on top and cut on thesides with the lines and everything.
That was still fly.
(18:41):
She was the all fly flying the fly girls.
Jay Ray (18:45):
You know what I mean?
So she absolutely, uh, sits on my list.
I think she's an an important style.
I kind of taught black women thatthere are different ways that you could
kind of show up, um, and still be fly.
So, uh, queen Latifah.
Absolutely.
So that was three.
So we both did three.
I, yes, we did both.
(19:05):
Did three.
Right.
So who's your, who's a fourth for you?
Sir Daniel (19:10):
Okay, so before we get into that, I do have a question.
Um, do you remember your first,your first clothing purchase
and who was it inspired by?
Like you took your own money andyou were old enough to say, okay,
um, I want this piece, this.
Jay Ray (19:30):
Yep.
Sir Daniel (19:31):
Piece of iconography on my back, um, because it's fly
and it represents that I'm partof the culture and I'm cool.
Jay Ray (19:40):
Yeah.
So, um, I do remember this, but, um, itwas actually a, a, a, um, an accessory.
So the first, um, accessory that Ipurchased, and it was inspired by Flavor
Flav, was the rope, the rope, stopwatch.
Clock thing.
'cause I definitely wanted that.
I couldn't get the big joint.
(20:00):
'cause my mom was like,no, you can't do that.
But you couldn't do thisswatch, they were selling those.
So shout out to, to the folks, y'allmay not remember this, but back
in the day in the hood, you couldbuy color coded stop watches that
you could wear around your neck.
And so they were yourwatch and your stopwatch.
When I first got, when I would get moneyand I could go out and buy stuff, I can't
(20:24):
remember how much these things were,but I remember buying it from the flea
market and um, I got me one of those.
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (20:31):
okay,
so another pick.
This is coming from a little left field,but one of my picks was Diggable planets.
Jay Ray (20:38):
Oh, interesting.
Okay.
Sir Daniel (20:40):
Yeah.
Digable Planets to me, I, so ofcourse we're talking about 92
Jay Ray (20:48):
Mm-hmm.
Sir Daniel (20:49):
when they drop, so they are, they're squarely in the
vein of, uh, tribe Called Questand that whole Native Tongues.
But they, it's like they took the,the Bohemian style and kind of.
I don't know.
It wasn't exaggerated.
It was very, it was almost kind of,it was understated and clean cut,
(21:12):
but there was also something verymilitarized about it without looking
military, if you catch what I'm saying.
Because if between rebirth and um.
Uh, the, the blowout, the blowout betweenre, between blue blue balls, between
(21:35):
between rebirth and the blowout comb.
They had experienced someradicalization of their own.
I'm pretty certain, broughton by the music industry.
And so while they were.
Kind.
They were kind of backpackers, butthey were still smooth with it.
That kind of re, that stuck out to me.
It's like, okay, I see you got thatfrom, that looks like a gap piece.
(21:59):
But I know that that's, you know,some camouflage that you cop from the
corner store and, you know, camouflagepieces look, just, looks so dope to me
back then, back in the early nineties.
And it just, it felt strong.
It definitely reflecteda different movement.
Within hip hop, you know, we're, we'rebackpackers now, we're, you know,
(22:22):
we're kind of grimy and, you know, andearthy, you know, you got your, you
got a Kofi on sometimes, or you get oneof those military style hats to pull.
'cause to feel like, becausethis is, we've taken the
culture back to the underground.
And so to do that you kindof had to look the part.
And so Diggable planets to me.
(22:43):
Did that, but now, but fastforward to now, the three of them.
Jay Ray (22:48):
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (22:49):
Man, those three are, so that is a good looking group of, um, people.
They, their, their style has evolved.
I love how Mecca being the only, the onlywoman in the group ladybug, the only woman
in the group, she's able to shine andto, and to embrace all her femininity.
(23:11):
'cause of course back then she wasrocking, you know, shirts and, and,
and pants, like the boys and whatnot.
But now she's completely bloomedand, and has her pieces as well.
It's like these women are getting their,you know, getting their tens from their
stylists or if they do it on their own.
And then the fellows, they, they'rebohemian, um, ish in particular, I
(23:36):
love Isha style from, from rockingGuber to the, to the tunics with the.
Embroidered, um, the embroidering and, andsomething just looks very lush and lux.
And so I liked the fact that I wasinspired by them as a teenager and
(23:56):
as an almost 50-year-old can stillbe inspired by them to still be
fly and hip hop at the same time.
Jay Ray (24:05):
Yeah.
It's, I love that youpicked, uh, Digable planets.
'cause that's an interesting pick.
But it, it mirrors 'cause this person whois on my list got some stuff from Diggable
planets and that person is most deaf.
Most deaf or Yasin Bay.
Sir Daniel (24:25):
Mm-hmm.
Jay Ray (24:26):
Sorry.
Ya seen ya bay.
Um, what I love about his evolving styleis it absolutely veered from kind of the
grimy backpack underground, late nineties,early two thousands, New York into uh uh.
(24:51):
Vintage pieces.
So he started wearing the fedoras,uh, started wearing the jackets,
started wearing, you know, like,uh, you know, custom pants, like
fitted pants and all of that.
So I distinctly remember.
When the new danger was coming outand just watching how, uh, his style
(25:13):
had evolved leaps and bounds sincelike the black on both sides record.
Um, and seeing the way that he wasable to kind of bring suits into this.
But they weren't like, at leastto my knowledge, like brand
new designer suits, right?
They definitely looked vintage.
They may not have been vintage,but they looked vintage and.
(25:35):
He absolutely expanded, uh,especially in the early two thousands.
Like what it was okay for arapper to look like, right?
Because we were squarely enteringa movement where everything was
like, um, names and high fashion.
So you were hearing all of the names, theGucci and the Versaces and all of that.
(25:56):
Whereas even though that was inhis, his wheelhouse, he looked.
Classic.
So when I even think of, and I knowthat we're gonna, we're gonna do a
show on this, when I think of likethe idea of the Dandy Yasim Bay
represents that in so many ways.
And even today you see itshowing up in his style.
(26:19):
So, um, I think that brother is dopeand um, absolutely has inspired the
way I see myself as a black man.
And I think other rappers, theway they can see themselves.
Sir Daniel (26:30):
Absolutely.
And I, and to add to that really quickly,I just distinctly feel like ya also
brought a global appeal like you could.
Like some of the things that hewould wear, you would see in South
African art pieces from the sixties.
Like, okay.
It's like, oh, so this brother isdoing references back to, to the
(26:55):
sixties, the seventies, but not justhere in the states, um, across the
globe and not just Africa, but um,places outside of Africa because I'm
sure be, uh, uh, he is Muslim, right?
Jay Ray (27:06):
He is.
He absolutely
Sir Daniel (27:08):
he's so that has, that had a, um, uh, an effect
on the way he dressed as well.
But a lot of our Muslim brothersand sisters be rocking it.
Like a lot of that stuff is custom and isfly as, I don't know what, so hats off to
you on that pick, and you said somethingvery important about seeing yourself.
(27:29):
And reflected in these, um, theseartists, and we've said it many, many,
many, many, many times on this show.
That Heavy D was one of theinfluences for us because you and
I, we had, we have a different, um.
Way of presenting in this worldbecause both of us, we we're, we're
(27:51):
big guys, we're men of stature.
Um, myself, I was Jay Ray.
I was, um, 13 years old andalready almost six feet tall.
Jay Ray (28:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (28:02):
And ha and wearing a size 13.
Jay Ray (28:04):
hard, man.
Sir Daniel (28:05):
That's hard.
That's hard when you're 13 and youwant to look like everybody else, but
your body is doing something completelydifferent than everybody else, but
you want to be fly at the same time.
And heavy D came at a timewhen I was going through that
and I was like, oh, okay.
You know, at that moment when he stepsout of the big and tall store in Mount
(28:28):
Vernon, I was like, oh, that's me.
Jay Ray (28:31):
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (28:32):
That's me going to the big and tall store and, but then
being more intentional about whatI pick out and making sure that I
feel good about what I'm wearing.
And so, you know, everything fromthe, from the uniformity of what
he had on with the, with the boys.
Jay Ray (28:51):
Mm-hmm.
Sir Daniel (28:51):
Who were much smaller than him, but there was
a uniformity in what they wore.
And then when we got to big time andthe albums after that, you talk about
classy, but still, but still representingHip hop, clean it, it lent him to not
just us in the hip hop community, butit gave him crossover appeal and allowed
(29:15):
him to kick down some more doors.
In order for us to come through as well.
So Heavy D will forever be one ofmy hip hop style icons forever.
And um, before we wrap this up, Jay, okay.
You not, I know you're not gonna expectthis, but I have to give honorable
mention, I have to give honorable mention.
Jay Ray (29:37):
have one too.
Sir Daniel (29:38):
Oh, perfect.
So I have honorable mention to Mr.
Cool Modi.
Jay Ray (29:44):
Oh, good one.
Okay.
Okay.
Good one.
I thought we were gonnapick the same person.
Okay.
Cool, cool, cool.
Sir Daniel (29:48):
That would, that wouldn't surprise me.
But Ku OD on the lowest ofkeys was killing you all.
It was killing y'all.
He was eating the game upin the, in the mid eighties.
Now, he came from, he did come fromthe era where, uh, it was pumas,
puma sweatsuits and whatnot, but.
(30:09):
He also did come from the era wherethey were integrating a lot of leather.
The look was very downtown, very sohovery, you know, punk inspired and they,
he was integrating a lot of leather.
And then when the late eighties camealong, Kumo DI don't know who, if I
don't, where are those Dapper dance.
(30:30):
But Kumo D always hada fresh leather outfit.
Jay Ray (30:34):
Always.
Sir Daniel (30:35):
With the pill box hat to to, to top it, all off
Jay Ray (30:39):
coats and boots.
Sir Daniel (30:42):
I mean, the, if, if Peter had known about Kuo D they would've been at
every video shoot waiting to throw bloodon that brother because he was sharp.
Jay Ray (30:52):
Always.
Sir Daniel (30:53):
sharp.
And let, and let's not talk about theeyewear, the eye, the signature eyewear.
Uh, it went from just regular shadesto those, um, to those big blockers.
I don't know
Jay Ray (31:04):
I don't know what they're called, but
Sir Daniel (31:05):
what that brand was, but eyewear.
Custom gear.
You are.
He's a style icon.
He's a style icon that we, we like tonot talk about Kumo d on purpose because,
because I think of the way, because of theway he raps and people nowadays make fun
of the way, the cadence that he deliver.
(31:25):
But the brother gave a lot to thegame and he, um, whether it was
with his music and his rhymes.
But also he was a style maven.
He was a fashion maven for sure.
So my honorable mention goes to Kumo D
Jay Ray (31:40):
Oh, that is a really good honorable mention.
So Missy is my, my honorable mentionbecause I feel like even to this
day, whenever you see Missy oncamera, she's ready to be on camera.
You know, I mean, like it's, you know,
Sir Daniel (31:56):
The same way we feel about Latifah and Hair.
Missy is also a hair,
Jay Ray (32:01):
Hair and makeup.
I remember.
And uh, Missy used to say when during,especially during them early years, when
she was like super duper busy, her makeupartists would literally do her makeup
while she, while Missy was sleeping.
Because it was like, no, 'cause she hadto like be ready to do a thing was Yeah,
apparently the makeup artist would justbe like in there, like getting the face
done and the eyes and all of miss, youwould wake up misdemeanor, but, um, yo.
(32:25):
This right here was sucha dope conversation.
I, um, who are your, let us know.
Let us know, um, as a, as, as acomment, who's your flyest rapper?
Who are some of your flyest rappers?
We would love to hear from y'all, butplease stay connected to Queue Points.
Um, please if you can see ourfaces or hear our voices subscribe.
(32:48):
Let your friends, family, colleagues knowbecause if you enjoy Queue Points, chances
are they will enjoy Queue Points as well.
Visit our website@Queue Points.com.
You can watch all of ourarchive for our entire show.
Uh, shop our store@store.Queue Points.comand check out additional content on Queue
Points mag@magazine.Queue Points.com.
Sir Daniel (33:06):
Thank you Jay Ray, and what do I always say in this life?
You have a choice.
You can either pick up theneedle or let the record play.
I'm DJ Sir Daniel.
Jay Ray (33:15):
My name is Jay Ray, y'all.
Sir Daniel (33:16):
And this is Queue Points podcast, dropping the
needle on black music history.
We will see you on the next go round,looking fresh dress, ready to impress
Jay Ray (33:27):
Peace y'all.
Sir Daniel (33:28):
peace.
Greetings and welcome back to another episode of Queue Points podcast.
I'm DJ Sir Daniel.
Jay Ray (00:21):
And my name is Jay Ray, sometimes known by my governments
as Johnnie Ray Kornegay III.
What's happening people?
Sir Daniel (00:29):
Jay Ray, I, you know, I can honestly say that we might be
the two of the flyest podcasters outhere because although we're similar,
we serve different looks at times.
And if you go back into our fashionhistory, uh, Queue Points, fashion
history, you could tell that wheneverwe show what we represent at.
And, uh, of course I saythat it's a little tongue in
cheek, but it's true though.
(00:51):
We, I think we, we represent and wecan definitely represent wherever
we go, but I must say Jay Ray, thatwhen it comes to the, the catalogs of
superstars and rock stars throughoutthe history, I will say that rap music
has pro produced some of the flyestindividuals on the planet Earth.
(01:13):
And so what we wanted to do inthis particular episode of Queue
Points is Jay Ray and I wantedto go back and forth and discuss.
Who we believe.
Who's in our top five?
I know y'all like to have theseMount Rushmore conversations.
We're over there.
Jay, Ray and I are beyond that.
We've had those conversations.
You guys are late right now.
(01:34):
What we want to talk about is who isn'tlate and we're talking about fashions
fashion wise, who are our top fivemost fashionable hip hop rap artist?
So, Jay Ray, uh, I want, I'm, I'm.
Ooh, I'm, so, I'm itching to hear who'son your list, so please hit me with your,
one of your first, uh, hip hop rap stars.
Jay Ray (01:56):
Yo.
So, um, the first person I thought of whenthinking of this topic was Slick Rick.
Is he on your list too?
Sir Daniel (02:09):
I told you there was gonna be some
Jay Ray (02:10):
I didn't even thought.
I was like, I don't know.
I
Sir Daniel (02:13):
But listen, we, what did I say at the top of this episode?
Jay Ray and I are on it.
We are very fashionable in our ownway and style, recognizes style and
slick Rick absolutely embodies style.
Go ahead.
Tell us why you, why he'syour, um, first pick.
Jay Ray (02:31):
And, and, and I think that's it.
So, um, Rick.
Was able to ride the wave of allthe different versions of kind of
hip hop, which was really dope.
So when we think of him in those earlyyears, we think of him in the suit.
We think of him with the dark sunglasses,of course, with the kgo, right?
(02:51):
And then as he gets a little more,you know what I'm saying, a little
more shine, you still get the soup.
But then there's like these chains.
Are everywhere.
And then the rings like, he'slike, he looks literally like the
most grand minister from a blackchurch that you would ever see.
(03:11):
Right.
You know what I mean?
Absolutely.
And so, and then still being ableto flow with a sweatsuit flow with
like Slick Rick to this day is justalways like, you could tell that.
Um, color.
You could tell that fabric, youcould tell that the way things
(03:35):
fall on him like matters to him.
So that tailoring is always together.
So, absolutely.
One of the first peopleI thought of was slick.
Rick, what about for,from your standpoint,
Sir Daniel (03:47):
So, uh, like we, like I said, slick Rick is one of the first people
I thought of as well, and he slick.
Rick resonates with me on severallevels because he represents.
Um, fashion that was inspiredby the wind rush generation.
And if you go back and listen to ourepisode, when we spoke about the, we spoke
(04:09):
about the, um, the black immigrants thatmoved to, that migrated to England in
the, in the early fifties, late sixties.
That slick Rick waspart of that wind rush.
Generation.
And when you look back at picturesof them, west Indian people always
stepped out when it was time to party.
There was a lot of blue collar peoplethat did blue collar work, service
(04:31):
work, but when they stepped out,they put on their finest and, and
which is universal to black peopleno matter where you come from.
Uhhuh, okay, is we're gonna step outand we're gonna put on our finest.
But there was also.
A uniform of a crisp shirt witha collar a, a popped up collar,
you know, a couple chains.
(04:51):
Um, the, the, the very wellcreased and fitted pants.
We love the sharp crease.
So, uh, and his, um,fashions, um, reflected that.
But what also slick Rick also means to,to me, is he resonated with me because he.
Started a trend amongst young men inthe hood that would, if they got a
(05:16):
piece of money, they got a piece ofcoin to go look for something to wear.
You know, they would take cues fromRick because, oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna
look fly if Rick can look fly in a suit.
And still be chill, but doesn't looklike a stuffy businessman on Wall Street.
I can do that too.
So then you have people going down tothe Lancey Street and other pla and you
(05:37):
know, getting your suit from Alexander's.
Like, I, I always tell the storyof how my mother would take me to
Alexander's every spring for new suit.
And so that's put in our DNA.
So if you could take that suit.
And then, and go to the, and getyou a kgo, a pair of Clarks or
some wallabies, uh, which theWu-Tang brought back, um, 20 years.
(05:59):
Well, yeah, about 20 yearslater, they brought that back and
started rocking the Wallabies.
Um, you can feel fly.
Not have spent a lot of money.
And, but yes, the opulence also,oh my God, the gold chains, the,
the un the un, the reveal of thegold chains is, is so dramatic
from the gold chains to his wrist.
(06:21):
Um, the gold teeth, all of it worked.
All of it worked.
It was, yes, it was gaudy, butit was gaudy in a good way.
And, and yes, so that's, that's why he'slike one of my very, the very first.
That just embodies fly.
Jay Ray (06:39):
Yeah, no.
Um, I wanna stop there 'cause we couldliterally spend an entire show talking
about Rick's those that adornment.
Right?
Um,
and it is still, I do wanna say this.
That's important, right?
So all the people that I picked,and I'm sure you have this too,
(07:00):
um, they're all kind of different.
They all had their ownthing, you know what I mean?
So my second person that I, I, I, uh,have on the list, and I'm surprised when
I get to this you'll, you'll see it.
But I have more women than Ihave men, which is interesting.
But my second person onthe list is Foxy Brown.
Sir Daniel (07:18):
I see that I.
Jay Ray (07:20):
so what's, what really appealed to me about Fox is of course
she arrives in hip hop as the seachange of hip hop is happening, right?
In particular.
Um, the money that's in the game at thatmoment, the level of celebrity that's in
(07:41):
the game in that moment, and how we'vekind of moved away from, uh, kind of the
black power, uh, conscious moment in hiphop into a more fashion forward moment.
Um, yeah, so I see, uh,I see Kevin and Fox.
Of course they're in the same lane, butthey're doing very different things.
Sir Daniel (08:05):
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Jay Ray (08:05):
I felt Kim, and this is not a bad, this is not a dig at Kim.
I felt like Kim was much morecostume in the presentation.
Much more.
Hmm.
Different word, much more, um, artfulin the presentation of her, the way she
showed up, you know, with the, the, thecolorful hair and the, the, the, the,
(08:28):
the shiny whatever, bling, blings, right?
You could tell that people were making,making custom pieces for her, whereas
Fox, there was like off the rack fashion,but elevated, you know what I mean?
So I felt like as a dark skin.
As a dark-skinned woman rocking these, youknow, rocking the Calvin Kline's later,
(08:50):
of course the Christian Diors of course.
You know what I'm saying?
And yeah.
And you know, furs and, you know, kindof all of that really kind of showed
women that, you know, black women.
Could be black women in hip hop.
Could be high fashion too.
You know what I mean?
It doesn't have to be your KateMoss and just your Tyra Banks.
(09:13):
These like model model girls, like hiphop girls could rock these clothes and
bring these clothes up too, because.
Sisters saw Fox rocking these, uh,rocking these brands and were like,
oh, I want a piece of this too.
And then these brands start comingto her and started being like, oh,
(09:33):
you're gonna be the muse for this line.
So, um.
I think Foxy Brown really did, especiallyin her heyday, we're talking about
the mid, particularly in the latenineties, really, when that second album
hit through the early two thousands.
Foxy Brown was one to watch froma fashion perspective as a woman.
Sir Daniel (09:53):
Oh, 100%.
I totally agree.
And it's so, again, our choicesmirror each other because my pick.
Is Lil Kim.
And so, and it's so funny in, in, in allof our Queue Points history, whenever
we've discussed one, we typically endup discussing the other, which is, but
(10:14):
what we do, what I'm very proud of us fordoing is that when we speak of them, we
speak of them not just in glowing terms,but we speak of them in their strengths.
What they bring to the gameand how they change the game.
Now, Lil Kim, of course, is a standoutto me because she, so when I say,
when we talk about who's the flyest,um, Kim and is well documented, Kim
(10:41):
is the, that girl in the hood who.
You, you saw her, whether she was wearingsome acid wash jeans that were ripped
with a Coca-Cola shirt and the 54 elevens.
If you know, you know what 54elevens are, if she's rocking
the 54 elevens, she's got.
(11:02):
She had now, she had, she had, uh,and those are, those are inexpensive,
but she had a, a Gucci purse.
Now the purse was a, was moreexpensive than the whole outfit.
And so what I'm saying is those girlsalways had an eye of flare for fashion.
They may not have necessarily beenable to afford it that the time until,
you know, you met the neighborhoodbooster, you got your pieces
(11:24):
that way, but they were able to.
To carry on that tradition.
And I must say Kim carried on a traditionthat, that Roxanne Shante started, like
if we look back at, at pictures of Shawneewhen she was on the, come up, when she
was a young girl, Shante was rockingfurs, she was rocking, uh, golden leathers
(11:46):
and you know, had custom pieces as well.
Um, but to your pointabout Little Kim, when the.
When her star was on the uptick in,you know, the fashion houses started
noticing her and her wide appeal.
This, of course, they came lookingto her and for, and gave her
statement pieces, but I think.
(12:08):
Along with what she wore, Kim gaveKim would have fashion moments
with wearing next to nothing.
And that says a lot, like a lot ofher fashion, huge fashion moments.
I think of specifically that.
Um, I think it's a Louis Vuittonmoment in the backseat of a, of a,
a Bentley where she's got her handscovering her, um, her breasts, but
(12:31):
she has nothing on, but this one.
Wide fedora style hat with a,a plume with a feather in it.
And, but, and a, a pair of nasty,um, what ankle boots, I think they
were, but she's completely naked.
But that was a whole fashion moment,you know, I mean, and so to me.
Anyone that can come alongand completely upset the game.
(12:53):
Turn people turn the turn, um, everyfunction upside down when they arrive.
Uh, have the, uh, paparazzi lookingto see what you're wearing, um,
on constantly on magazine covers.
You're not just, I. Uh, um, you're notjust a, a, hmm, how am I gonna say this?
(13:15):
You're not just a, a rapperwho just happens to be fly.
You literally are a fashion moment.
You are a fashion moment.
You are, you, she, I know it's beensaid a million times before, but she
really completely changed the game and,um, especially the commerce aspect of.
(13:35):
Hip hop.
And so to, to me, all of that combined iswhat makes her one of my top five flys.
I mean, it kind of goes without saying,but there's, there's some real meat and
potatoes behind that, behind that pick.
And I think everybodyout there would agree.
But, um.
So, so, okay.
So since we're still talking aboutwomen in rap, there's somebody else
(13:59):
who, and this, I have to say, seeingher at the Met Gala this past Met
gala really, really reminded me of howmuch of a fashion plate this woman is.
I'm gonna, I'm giving it up to Laury Hill.
Jay Ray (14:16):
Sh fashion icon.
Sir Daniel (14:19):
on the lowest of keys has been eating, as the kids say,
has been eating the girls up leftand right on the lowest of keys.
Like she doesn't like, she doesn'tdo, you know, she's not splashy like
Cameron Fox, but when you see Lauren.
Lauren has on, might have on somevintage pieces, some custom, and
(14:43):
to her, to her, um, to her credit,she's always remained covered.
I noticed She's alwaysremained covered now.
And that's in her later years nowwhen, you know, now when she was you,
you know, el buggy, you know, uh, cop.
What, what she used to call herselfpop diesel or something like that.
Back in the day, one of her nicknames,you know, she was also quite fashionable.
(15:04):
You know, they, they were gap kids.
Uh, I remember she made squirts look fly,and if you, if you know, you know, she,
um, from the hair with the, you know,the, the twists and the, the, the knots.
And then she finally just, um, went.
Full, um, dreads, well,excuse me, went full locks.
(15:26):
And Lauren has low key been a fashionmovement in her own right for years.
I have never seen her performpost, post miseducation.
I've never seen her perform onstage without a pair of heels.
And that's, and that's saying something.
And, you know, you wouldthink that she would not be.
(15:49):
But mama has never stepped onstage without a nasty heel.
Jay Ray (15:52):
Nah, Lauren is, you are absolutely right.
I will never, um, forget, uh, therewas the roots picnic, so this is like.
2012, then you could watch this video
Sir Daniel (16:06):
Yes.
Jay Ray (16:07):
Shoot, she came out in the white little dress and I was like, we
be forgetting that that girl Laurenis going to give you fresh style.
Okay.
At all times.
Nope.
Highly agree.
And we gonna stay in Jersey since we here,um, because Queen Latifah is on my list.
Sir Daniel (16:29):
she is.
Jay Ray (16:29):
And my this, um, Dana Owens has always from dance for
me on down, um, has always stuckto a signature style, but as her.
(16:51):
Star has risen, like everything abouther style has also risen with it.
And so there's always been the,um, consistency around, uh, the
celebration of her blackness,especially her black womanhood.
Right.
Dana has always shown up, uh, royally.
(17:14):
On camera, even on tv, even when youwould watch Living Single, right?
It was like, you could tell that whoeverwas styling her also was like, okay,
this is like Queen Latifah style.
You know what I mean?
On television.
But I think, um, speaking of the MetGala, I remember when her and, uh,
her partner showed up on that redcarpet at the, the Met Gala last year.
(17:37):
And it was just like, yo, this woman.
Knows how to turn heads,you know what I mean?
So, and what I love about, uh, whatI love about Queen Latifah's style,
even when I watch the equalizer, itis one, we talked about this a lot.
Hair is never outta place.
Sir Daniel (17:58):
The, the hair needs a moment by itself.
Jay Ray, the hair is a moment by itself.
I don't understand why she, I know she'sdone covergirl for makeup and you know,
faces face card is always on 10, butI am so surprised she never had some
type of, um, relaxer deal or somethingwas not on the cover of somebody's box
(18:21):
because like to your point, that hair was.
Always, always laid to this day.
It's always laid.
Even when she, even when she firstcame out and she had it cut short,
you know, like a typical basketball,um, female basketball player, cut
short, curly on top and cut on thesides with the lines and everything.
That was still fly.
(18:41):
She was the all fly flying the fly girls.
Jay Ray (18:45):
You know what I mean?
So she absolutely, uh, sits on my list.
I think she's an an important style.
I kind of taught black women thatthere are different ways that you could
kind of show up, um, and still be fly.
So, uh, queen Latifah.
Absolutely.
So that was three.
So we both did three.
I, yes, we did both.
(19:05):
Did three.
Right.
So who's your, who's a fourth for you?
Sir Daniel (19:10):
Okay, so before we get into that, I do have a question.
Um, do you remember your first,your first clothing purchase
and who was it inspired by?
Like you took your own money andyou were old enough to say, okay,
um, I want this piece, this.
Jay Ray (19:30):
Yep.
Sir Daniel (19:31):
Piece of iconography on my back, um, because it's fly
and it represents that I'm partof the culture and I'm cool.
Jay Ray (19:40):
Yeah.
So, um, I do remember this, but, um, itwas actually a, a, a, um, an accessory.
So the first, um, accessory that Ipurchased, and it was inspired by Flavor
Flav, was the rope, the rope, stopwatch.
Clock thing.
'cause I definitely wanted that.
I couldn't get the big joint.
(20:00):
'cause my mom was like,no, you can't do that.
But you couldn't do thisswatch, they were selling those.
So shout out to, to the folks, y'allmay not remember this, but back
in the day in the hood, you couldbuy color coded stop watches that
you could wear around your neck.
And so they were yourwatch and your stopwatch.
When I first got, when I would get moneyand I could go out and buy stuff, I can't
(20:24):
remember how much these things were,but I remember buying it from the flea
market and um, I got me one of those.
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (20:31):
okay,
so another pick.
This is coming from a little left field,but one of my picks was Diggable planets.
Jay Ray (20:38):
Oh, interesting.
Okay.
Sir Daniel (20:40):
Yeah.
Digable Planets to me, I, so ofcourse we're talking about 92
Jay Ray (20:48):
Mm-hmm.
Sir Daniel (20:49):
when they drop, so they are, they're squarely in the
vein of, uh, tribe Called Questand that whole Native Tongues.
But they, it's like they took the,the Bohemian style and kind of.
I don't know.
It wasn't exaggerated.
It was very, it was almost kind of,it was understated and clean cut,
(21:12):
but there was also something verymilitarized about it without looking
military, if you catch what I'm saying.
Because if between rebirth and um.
Uh, the, the blowout, the blowout betweenre, between blue blue balls, between
(21:35):
between rebirth and the blowout comb.
They had experienced someradicalization of their own.
I'm pretty certain, broughton by the music industry.
And so while they were.
Kind.
They were kind of backpackers, butthey were still smooth with it.
That kind of re, that stuck out to me.
It's like, okay, I see you got thatfrom, that looks like a gap piece.
(21:59):
But I know that that's, you know,some camouflage that you cop from the
corner store and, you know, camouflagepieces look, just, looks so dope to me
back then, back in the early nineties.
And it just, it felt strong.
It definitely reflecteda different movement.
Within hip hop, you know, we're, we'rebackpackers now, we're, you know,
(22:22):
we're kind of grimy and, you know, andearthy, you know, you got your, you
got a Kofi on sometimes, or you get oneof those military style hats to pull.
'cause to feel like, becausethis is, we've taken the
culture back to the underground.
And so to do that you kindof had to look the part.
And so Diggable planets to me.
(22:43):
Did that, but now, but fastforward to now, the three of them.
Jay Ray (22:48):
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (22:49):
Man, those three are, so that is a good looking group of, um, people.
They, their, their style has evolved.
I love how Mecca being the only, the onlywoman in the group ladybug, the only woman
in the group, she's able to shine andto, and to embrace all her femininity.
(23:11):
'cause of course back then she wasrocking, you know, shirts and, and,
and pants, like the boys and whatnot.
But now she's completely bloomedand, and has her pieces as well.
It's like these women are getting their,you know, getting their tens from their
stylists or if they do it on their own.
And then the fellows, they, they'rebohemian, um, ish in particular, I
(23:36):
love Isha style from, from rockingGuber to the, to the tunics with the.
Embroidered, um, the embroidering and, andsomething just looks very lush and lux.
And so I liked the fact that I wasinspired by them as a teenager and
(23:56):
as an almost 50-year-old can stillbe inspired by them to still be
fly and hip hop at the same time.
Jay Ray (24:05):
Yeah.
It's, I love that youpicked, uh, Digable planets.
'cause that's an interesting pick.
But it, it mirrors 'cause this person whois on my list got some stuff from Diggable
planets and that person is most deaf.
Most deaf or Yasin Bay.
Sir Daniel (24:25):
Mm-hmm.
Jay Ray (24:26):
Sorry.
Ya seen ya bay.
Um, what I love about his evolving styleis it absolutely veered from kind of the
grimy backpack underground, late nineties,early two thousands, New York into uh uh.
(24:51):
Vintage pieces.
So he started wearing the fedoras,uh, started wearing the jackets,
started wearing, you know, like,uh, you know, custom pants, like
fitted pants and all of that.
So I distinctly remember.
When the new danger was coming outand just watching how, uh, his style
(25:13):
had evolved leaps and bounds sincelike the black on both sides record.
Um, and seeing the way that he wasable to kind of bring suits into this.
But they weren't like, at leastto my knowledge, like brand
new designer suits, right?
They definitely looked vintage.
They may not have been vintage,but they looked vintage and.
(25:35):
He absolutely expanded, uh,especially in the early two thousands.
Like what it was okay for arapper to look like, right?
Because we were squarely enteringa movement where everything was
like, um, names and high fashion.
So you were hearing all of the names, theGucci and the Versaces and all of that.
(25:56):
Whereas even though that was inhis, his wheelhouse, he looked.
Classic.
So when I even think of, and I knowthat we're gonna, we're gonna do a
show on this, when I think of likethe idea of the Dandy Yasim Bay
represents that in so many ways.
And even today you see itshowing up in his style.
(26:19):
So, um, I think that brother is dopeand um, absolutely has inspired the
way I see myself as a black man.
And I think other rappers, theway they can see themselves.
Sir Daniel (26:30):
Absolutely.
And I, and to add to that really quickly,I just distinctly feel like ya also
brought a global appeal like you could.
Like some of the things that hewould wear, you would see in South
African art pieces from the sixties.
Like, okay.
It's like, oh, so this brother isdoing references back to, to the
(26:55):
sixties, the seventies, but not justhere in the states, um, across the
globe and not just Africa, but um,places outside of Africa because I'm
sure be, uh, uh, he is Muslim, right?
Jay Ray (27:06):
He is.
He absolutely
Sir Daniel (27:08):
he's so that has, that had a, um, uh, an effect
on the way he dressed as well.
But a lot of our Muslim brothersand sisters be rocking it.
Like a lot of that stuff is custom and isfly as, I don't know what, so hats off to
you on that pick, and you said somethingvery important about seeing yourself.
(27:29):
And reflected in these, um, theseartists, and we've said it many, many,
many, many, many times on this show.
That Heavy D was one of theinfluences for us because you and
I, we had, we have a different, um.
Way of presenting in this worldbecause both of us, we we're, we're
(27:51):
big guys, we're men of stature.
Um, myself, I was Jay Ray.
I was, um, 13 years old andalready almost six feet tall.
Jay Ray (28:01):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (28:02):
And ha and wearing a size 13.
Jay Ray (28:04):
hard, man.
Sir Daniel (28:05):
That's hard.
That's hard when you're 13 and youwant to look like everybody else, but
your body is doing something completelydifferent than everybody else, but
you want to be fly at the same time.
And heavy D came at a timewhen I was going through that
and I was like, oh, okay.
You know, at that moment when he stepsout of the big and tall store in Mount
(28:28):
Vernon, I was like, oh, that's me.
Jay Ray (28:31):
Yeah.
Sir Daniel (28:32):
That's me going to the big and tall store and, but then
being more intentional about whatI pick out and making sure that I
feel good about what I'm wearing.
And so, you know, everything fromthe, from the uniformity of what
he had on with the, with the boys.
Jay Ray (28:51):
Mm-hmm.
Sir Daniel (28:51):
Who were much smaller than him, but there was
a uniformity in what they wore.
And then when we got to big time andthe albums after that, you talk about
classy, but still, but still representingHip hop, clean it, it lent him to not
just us in the hip hop community, butit gave him crossover appeal and allowed
(29:15):
him to kick down some more doors.
In order for us to come through as well.
So Heavy D will forever be one ofmy hip hop style icons forever.
And um, before we wrap this up, Jay, okay.
You not, I know you're not gonna expectthis, but I have to give honorable
mention, I have to give honorable mention.
Jay Ray (29:37):
have one too.
Sir Daniel (29:38):
Oh, perfect.
So I have honorable mention to Mr.
Cool Modi.
Jay Ray (29:44):
Oh, good one.
Okay.
Okay.
Good one.
I thought we were gonnapick the same person.
Okay.
Cool, cool, cool.
Sir Daniel (29:48):
That would, that wouldn't surprise me.
But Ku OD on the lowest ofkeys was killing you all.
It was killing y'all.
He was eating the game upin the, in the mid eighties.
Now, he came from, he did come fromthe era where, uh, it was pumas,
puma sweatsuits and whatnot, but.
(30:09):
He also did come from the era wherethey were integrating a lot of leather.
The look was very downtown, very sohovery, you know, punk inspired and they,
he was integrating a lot of leather.
And then when the late eighties camealong, Kumo DI don't know who, if I
don't, where are those Dapper dance.
(30:30):
But Kumo D always hada fresh leather outfit.
Jay Ray (30:34):
Always.
Sir Daniel (30:35):
With the pill box hat to to, to top it, all off
Jay Ray (30:39):
coats and boots.
Sir Daniel (30:42):
I mean, the, if, if Peter had known about Kuo D they would've been at
every video shoot waiting to throw bloodon that brother because he was sharp.
Jay Ray (30:52):
Always.
Sir Daniel (30:53):
sharp.
And let, and let's not talk about theeyewear, the eye, the signature eyewear.
Uh, it went from just regular shadesto those, um, to those big blockers.
I don't know
Jay Ray (31:04):
I don't know what they're called, but
Sir Daniel (31:05):
what that brand was, but eyewear.
Custom gear.
You are.
He's a style icon.
He's a style icon that we, we like tonot talk about Kumo d on purpose because,
because I think of the way, because of theway he raps and people nowadays make fun
of the way, the cadence that he deliver.
(31:25):
But the brother gave a lot to thegame and he, um, whether it was
with his music and his rhymes.
But also he was a style maven.
He was a fashion maven for sure.
So my honorable mention goes to Kumo D
Jay Ray (31:40):
Oh, that is a really good honorable mention.
So Missy is my, my honorable mentionbecause I feel like even to this
day, whenever you see Missy oncamera, she's ready to be on camera.
You know, I mean, like it's, you know,
Sir Daniel (31:56):
The same way we feel about Latifah and Hair.
Missy is also a hair,
Jay Ray (32:01):
Hair and makeup.
I remember.
And uh, Missy used to say when during,especially during them early years, when
she was like super duper busy, her makeupartists would literally do her makeup
while she, while Missy was sleeping.
Because it was like, no, 'cause she hadto like be ready to do a thing was Yeah,
apparently the makeup artist would justbe like in there, like getting the face
done and the eyes and all of miss, youwould wake up misdemeanor, but, um, yo.
(32:25):
This right here was sucha dope conversation.
I, um, who are your, let us know.
Let us know, um, as a, as, as acomment, who's your flyest rapper?
Who are some of your flyest rappers?
We would love to hear from y'all, butplease stay connected to Queue Points.
Um, please if you can see ourfaces or hear our voices subscribe.
(32:48):
Let your friends, family, colleagues knowbecause if you enjoy Queue Points, chances
are they will enjoy Queue Points as well.
Visit our website@Queue Points.com.
You can watch all of ourarchive for our entire show.
Uh, shop our store@store.Queue Points.comand check out additional content on Queue
Points mag@magazine.Queue Points.com.
Sir Daniel (33:06):
Thank you Jay Ray, and what do I always say in this life?
You have a choice.
You can either pick up theneedle or let the record play.
I'm DJ Sir Daniel.
Jay Ray (33:15):
My name is Jay Ray, y'all.
Sir Daniel (33:16):
And this is Queue Points podcast, dropping the
needle on black music history.
We will see you on the next go round,looking fresh dress, ready to impress
Jay Ray (33:27):
Peace y'all.
Sir Daniel (33:28):
peace.
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