If you ask theObservatory of Economic Complexity, the United States’s top export is refined petroleum.
We sent out $54.8 billion worth of the stuff in 2020.
But contrary to statistics, some would say the greatest export of the U.S. is its culture.
Angel + Dren
Rock and roll is probably the easiest example to point to.
“It was a winning scheme for record executives looking to attract a “mainstream” audience.
And it persists today.
Uncle Waffles
Hip-hop’s influence can be heard inK-pop, with its R&B-smooth beats and rap breaks.
Black Americans have set a standard of hipness that has prevailed for more than a century.
The rhythms and lyrics of the music are rooted in African traditions.
DBN Gogo
These deep roots manifest themselves in Black cultures across the world.
No group of people bear closer witness to this than DJs.
We tapped five of them to talk about how music influences their look.
Getty Images
By the time she moved to Johannesburg at 21, the foundations of her aesthetic were well in place.
It’s no doubt Waffles is a looker, but her beauty is just one aspect of her appeal.
As she spins, she submits to the music, launching into beautiful, terrific fits of dance.
She looks free and the concept of freedom is at the core of her overall aesthetic.
“There is still a lot of stigma around women embracing themselves,” Waffles says.
Gogo cites the late singerLebo Mathosa, whom she calls a musical and style pioneer, as an example.
“They used to call it crazy,” Gogo says.
“She was Black and had blond hair, but this is the culture of hip-hop.”
Gogo embraces the fullness of the different kinds of Black beauty that make up her look today.
When she’s spinning, you’ll rarely find her without a designer bag slung across her body.
She favors a “natural” beat, uplifted by lush lashes and ’90s-stylelipstick and liner.
Her style is one-part tomboy, one-part South African material gworl.
“There are African luxury brands that were tapping into.”
When you’re raised in the birthplace of hip-hop, it’s kind of unavoidable.
“I could not wait to getpress-on nails,” Dren recalls.
“To me, the designs always said so much about the personality and self-expression of that woman.”
It was a Black girls rite of passage.
The combination of influences come together in Angel and Dren’s overall look.
Their hair is always worn long, the skirts short, sporty, and tight.
Their heels are stilt-high, but low enough to comfortably bust into a dainty-but-soulful two-step.
Their skin-clinging garments often have mesh panels or cutouts.
The pair’s bread and butter?
Layering modern-day tunes over eclectic rhythms from around the globe.
“We’re all different, but that’s what makes us beautiful and special.”
Location:Los Angeles
Playing:Hip-hop, dancehall, soca, r&b
Kitty Cash, a.k.a.
Cachee Livingston, will forever be a Brooklyn girl.
Cash dutifully adheres to the aesthetic markers of hip-hop.
Her box braids recall those that dancehall artist Patra wore in the ’90s.
And echoes ofNina Simone’s iconic, pearl-laden updo subtly reverberate when Cash wears anorange-red topknotdotted with tiny diamonds.
Historically, fabulosity of this caliber hasn’t been embraced by those outside of the Black community.
“Now it’s called nail art.
It is fab to have, but within my community, it’s always been that way.
Changing your hair isn’t because you don’t know yourself.
Its a form of expression.”
Cash draws on beauty standards that are true to her experience.
Get into more stories from The Melanin Edit:
Now, watch Chloe break down her beauty evolution:
