Back in the late 1990’s rappers and entertainers started appearing on MTV sporting ski goggles. Remember Ma$e and Puff Daddy in the “Mo Money Mo Problems” video?
The question is why? Was it a poetic way of saying that there was so much coke that you could run the slalom? Were they protecting their eyes from Hype Williams’ industrial wind tunnels? Did they want to imply that they were just getting gnar gnar? We have so many questions…
One hint to the origin of this fad was the 1995 video for Naughty by Nature’s “Feel Me Flow“. In the video Treach, DJ Kay Gee, and Vin Key are seen rapping while adorned with ski goggles. However, the trio are snowboarding in the video which makes the appearance of ski goggles less conspicuous. That same year Da Bush Babees brought goggles to the streets in their video for “Remember We“, which was shot in a NYC subway car.
The trend peaked in 1998 when Big Pun sported a pair of ill bug-eye fighter pilot type joints on the cover of his album Capital Punishment. That same year Ma$e and Puff Daddy dropped the video for The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems” and DMX was photographed in some bad mofos.
Often featured alongside matching Gucci tracksuits and lively, colorful diamond chains, the goggles are often worn to the side, for posterity’s sake, I imagine. – fourpins.com
The ski goggle look has largely faded from the hip-hop scene. Today, you will occasionally see a throwback style statement like the above image of Frank Ocean, but gone are the days of widespread popularity. If you would like to pickup the baton and bring ski goggles back to the street we recommend getting your hands on a pair of the crème de la crème.
