For Us By Us…
ARTIST WEEKS By TSSCrew on August 7, 2008 at 8:17 pmWords By David D.
I still remember the commercial. LL Cool J. White Background. Mr. Todd spittin’ like it was ‘88. The subject: FUBU.
FUBU came to the south at a pivotal time for me. It was 98′. I was twelve and about to partake in that very important Mother-Son discussion (second only to the Birds and the Bees) in which I meekly request to stop hittin’ up Wal-Mart to get fly for school.
Before FUBU came to us in the South, we could always tell a person from up North. They were the cats rockin Timbs and some sort of shirt with a name brand we’d never heard before and could barely sound out. FUBU was the precursor to the eventual LRG, Ecko. Enyce, etc. most of us have been wearing for years. It was the first urban designer brand that we really saw in southern department stores. Prior to the FUBU explosion, Starter jackets and sports jerseys were the barometers for flyness. The psychological effects of this change cannot be overstated. Instead of wearing reminders that the only way out was being skilled with a Basketball or Football- we began wearing symbols of Black entrepreneurship by wearing clothes developed and marketed by a group of hard working and young African American men. The acronym, For Us By Us, is a unifying and positive statement for youths to have on their chests.
And the style was fresh. I remember my first shirt ( I still have it): all white with the all lowercase “FUBU” stitched on with a blue outline. On the left sleeve is that ever-important black and red “L” that let you know that this was the real product. Cuz lord knows that there were enough little vendors on every corner selling all kinds of counterfeits.
In a fickle fashion industry where top fads have Leprechaun height reigns at the top, FUBU had a strong grip on the top spot for about four years. When the fad started to die down, FUBU was able to adapt and create the Fat Albert line (starting a trend of nostalgia based clothing lines like Sedgwick & Cedar) and elongating their reign as a top clothing company amongst the rising number of competitors.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a FUBU shirt on a sales rack and I don’t really know what happened to the company. But like a classic album, we have to acknowledge the company’s impact on the all-encompassing Hip-Hop lifestyle. Just a few guys pulled themselves together and created a movement that has helped to define our culture. Currently, if I’m not rockin the POLO, you can catch me in an LRG shirt or sweatshirt. About ten years ago, the LRG acronym would have been replaced by the big FUBU on the chest with a red L.
Posted in ARTIST WEEKS, SMOKE BREAK — Tags: 1998 Week, Fubu
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38 Comments
THESE KIDS WERE DOIN IT BIG FOR A WHILE…REMEMBER THE RECORD LABEL N THE COMPILATION ALBUM?
Never owned an article of FUBU clothing other than a suit (go figure!)
I was rocking the few Ecko/Enyce clothes I could find.
Fatty Gurl, Fatty Gurl….
Shit was always corny.
@ Old Sole
“50 Niggas Deep” was one of the first posing/stuntin’ club records of the new millenium. 2001. Another great year. Minus the month of September.
yo really tho wut happend to these guys n the clothing
“Never owned an article of FUBU clothing other than a suit (go figure!)”
say word!! ja ja ja! same here ese! notable quotable:
“BUFU! By Us FUCK YOU!” Azn Dude, How High
Fubu… white kids snatched up FUBU like discounted slaves in 1863.
I had like 3 jerseys. they were comfortable.but when they went mainstream i was forced to deal with obnoxious suburbanites who felt compelled to walk up on me and ask stupid questions just because we were rockin similar gear.
“Yo dude. Your jersey’s nice… Hey you got any Newports? I’m out.”
Seriously. I had to burn those things. they were like the original hipster-magnets.
Tho i gotta admit this much, when LL clowned GAP in their own spot by flippin’ the For Us By Us line in the GAP jeans promo without their permission, I felt pretty good about my people.
I knew some marketing folks on GAP–they actually though For Us was about GAP. They had no idea what they were paying for.
Classic.
i had a couple pairs of shorts and my girl bought me one of those grey 05 jerseys before they got too played out…shit just got too saturated too fast…that shit’s stuck in the discount rack at marshall’s now
Fubu makes suits also
neva owned a FUBU suit. thought they were kinda nice, just never for me.
‘Member Keither Murray’s Badonkadunk? That was on the FUBU label.
yo really tho wut happend to these guys n the clothing
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Started selling this shit in Macy’s…
I seen it happent o the best of them…..
i kno they still make clean suits..yea forgot they sold out…caterin to wite ppl n shit
they were like the original hipster-magnets.
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lol
Daymond John is one of the orig. cats right? Didn’t he sell the brand & move on to create some other shit?
one of them sold their portion and did work with akademiks in early 2000’s
back when they had the militant themes on erry thing
the other co-founder of Akademiks was a brother who left Mecca at the same time
dunno his name but yea there wuz anotha person involved i the beginnin
thought akademiks guys usta work for nike/jordan bacc in da dae…?
BUFU
Kurupt ‘98
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULCEA9BWjpo
dope
Yay Yayyyy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLmodGd7utE
i know the dude who did Enycee was at Akademics for a minute. But yeah, white folks just started rockin’ FUBU like that ish was Tevas and Birkenstocks. I knew whitefolks that was afraid to get down with Tims and Lugz and Seaon John even. But FUBU? It was like they had a meeting one night and said, “Dudes, dudettes… FUBU… Ours… Screw ‘em.”
Next day, it was a wrap.
What ever happened to Johnny P.? I used to love that doods voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glbu98H9ybw
he said they had a meeting…classic
As a general rule, I always tried to avoid “purposefully Hip-Hop” gear. FUBU, Phat Farm, South Pole, etc…Can’t do it.
“When I dress, it’s never nothin’ less than Guess” – Nasty Nas
These guys own COOGI now.
Yeah the best thing fubu made was the first T-shirts with the lower case letters. Those were dope but I remember them being like $50 a peice. I couldn’t fuck with it. But when I went to see battles at the rec center all the asian boyz had the yellow ones in like 3xl.
I’m from the south and I never ever remember FUBU being “fresh”..ever!
“Before FUBU came to us in the South, we could always tell a person from up North. ”
So after FUBU we could no longer tell when someone was from up North?
“They were the cats rockin some sort of shirt with a name brand we’d never heard before and could barely sound out.”
Never heard of and could barely sound out? Mecca was easy to sound out. Stop giving the south a bad name…lol!
^lol…naw my dude, I was thinking more along the lines of enyce. I remember not knowing if it was sposed to be pronounced “e-nice” “e-nee-chay” or “NYC”
ooo how the times have changed…
got the FUBU album?
Kg Tha Destroyah Says:
These guys own COOGI now.
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word?
that explains all that corny ass shit they been puttin out lately then
It was like they had a meeting one night and said, “Dudes, dudettes… FUBU… Ours… Screw ‘em.”
_________________________________________________________
LOL !!!
David D
Thanks for bringing me back to the golden age of Hip Hop and FUBU.
Thank you for even mentioning Sedgwick & Cedar in the same article of FUBU, as I am the founder of Sedgwick & Cedar.
I have talked personally many times to Keith Perrin, one of the founders at FUBU about his amazing experience.
If some don’t know about Sedgwick & Cedar….we work alongside DJ Kool Herc (The Father), Coke LaRock (1st MC) Afrika Bambaata, Melle Mel, Sha-rock (1st Female MC), Smith Twins (1st B-boys) and on and on.
Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Snoop, Nas and many others have been really supportive to S&C 73 as we continue to emerge. We are trying to preserve history of the culture, stay authentic and keep people fly at the same time. If you truly love Hip Hop, check us out at http://www.sc73.com
Sedgwick & Cedar…..Respect Where it All Began ‘ 73
Peace
Russia loves FUBU
USSR! USSR!
Anyone have that FUBU album???????
2nd call for the fubu album
FUBU album anyone?