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the history of the frohawk.


there are a few pivotal moments in the history of the frohawk in pop culture, and i’d like to quickly pinpoint them each.

in my opinion, the friendly-yet-intimidating superstar mr. t started out the afro-mohawk hybrid a minute ago. and i do mean a minute ago. the chicagoan actor, best known for his role as clubber lang in rocky III, was the youngest boy in a 12-kid household, and needed a way to stand out among the bunch and let people know he meant business. that’s when the frohawk came into play.

a few successful years later, he was able to make motivational videos for the youth, such as this (must watch):

recoupin’!

although mr. t has maintained his frohawk from before his rise to stardom to this day, his popularity has never peaked like it once did in the 80’s and 90’s. therefore, the masses have not felt uninspired to rock the frohawk since, and it lay dormant for many years. the man who brought it back? entertainment’s #1 role model, sean “puff daddy / p. diddy / diddy” combs.

in 2003, mr. combs decided to prove everybody in the world that he was that dude by deciding to run the new york city marathon. and like his alter egos, he needed to switch up the ‘do. his choice? the frohawk. i believe his primary reasons were its aerodynamic design and aesthetic appeal. well, it served him well. diddy punished that marathon in an impressive 4 hours and 15 minutes. pretty good for a guy known best for day 26 passing the courvoisier and rocking shiny suits to events back in the day. but he proved that he ran the city, literally. and with all with a frohawk. talk about an inspiring hairstyle.

diddy still is the man, but he abandoned the frohawk, and it again fell into retirement until the south decided to bring it back. nah, that’s not juicy j from three 6 mafia. that’s chad johnson, aka ocho cinco, of the cincinatti bengals. i didn’t really like the NFL until i saw how entertaining this guy made the game. he started rocking the wesley snipes inspired ‘hawk (thanks to my homie in the comments section for that!) in ‘06, but didn’t really get it right the style until last season. i’m guessing that he’s perfected it for the ‘08/’09, and is ready to get some TD’s in that end zone. maybe he’ll see the playoffs. maybe he won’t. he still fries people on that field with a frohawk.

whose next in the line of monumental frohawks? i want to say greg oden…

…but i don’t know enough about his court play to offer a worthwhile estimation. plus, who knows if he’s even rocking it during the season. he hasn’t played one NBA game yet. it looks and flows something marvelous, though.

am i missing anybody important? let me know.

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15 comments ↓

#1 HHDB.com on 08.28.08 at 5:58 AM

There are records of africans sporting mohawks over a century ago. But there were also native americans from the Mohawk tribes that were hired to help europeans navigate the Nile river. Cultural diffusion is not something that just started happening in the last few decades. So yeah, black people were rocking mohawks waaaaaaaaaaay before Mr. T.

- Tyrone
Rosetta Stoned

#2 rice rocket on 08.28.08 at 6:17 AM

i don’t think he’s talking about the first time a mohawk on a black person was actually spotted, my friend. if anything, it’s about pop culture’s influence on the hawk…

#3 amanda on 08.28.08 at 11:28 AM

I saw someone with the ‘frohawk’ today on campus. Nice timing.

#4 Slipstream on 08.28.08 at 12:48 PM

Mr. T is a legend! What a guy. I mean who else but Mr. T? Nobody, there is only one Mr. T and whatever he says, you listen! I just got him on my GPS as a download from Navtones.com. I love it, turn left fool, if you’re driving with me, Mr. T have some rules and regulations…. Don’t give me no jibba-Jabba! You can go to the youtube.com/navtonesgps page and see a few mash-up videos they have of Mr. T there, it’s funny!

#5 Yemsquad on 08.28.08 at 5:43 PM

I never knew that Mr or Dr. T, created recoupin’/playing it off. The next time I trip and turn it into a light jog, I will think of that guy.

#6 Tjett on 08.28.08 at 11:25 PM

….

that recouping video deserves a blog post just by itself.

“oh, hi there”

“have you ever…done something so abso-ludicrous you wish you could just move to a deserted island, and hide your head in the sand?”

i’d also be interested in seeing commentary on dr. t’s workout short and sandal combination, possibly with regard to how it squares with the predominating retro fashion trends of the day.

#7 Nas Vegas on 08.29.08 at 12:17 AM

Boss!

Boss!

These days Im rockin a hawk, cuz I want to and I feel like, any questions please direct them to my assistant Jean Grey, umm Im lettin my joint get grow to be like Mr. T’s joint, Why? Cuz I want to and I feel like it, Ricardo step your shit up baby boy! Umm Marcel Whats the business? Tjett Whats poppin? Umm yea so I almost forgot to add that i spiced up my hawk and got a Barack Obama fade wit my hawk, so now I look like the first black president wit a hawk, if that makes sense, does that make sense? well if it doesn’t it should make sense..

Umm yea 100

#8 Jordan on 08.29.08 at 9:41 AM

Thank you mr. vegas
The hawk is too hot
im def gettin it back at some point lol

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30056865&l=c7912&id=1091940043

http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30056866&l=fc1a7&id=1091940043

#9 Blake Williams on 08.29.08 at 10:14 AM

So, you didn’t like football until someone rodmanized it for you. You sir, are not qualified to write a post about things manly. But this was good. Kudos.

#10 wheres the love? on 08.29.08 at 10:43 AM

If you are going to give props to Ocho Cinco, then you absolutely must give props to his inspiration: Wesley Snipes in Demolition Man.

Do your research!

#11 modi on 08.29.08 at 10:51 AM

done. great work. thank you.

#12 dentonmd on 08.29.08 at 3:22 PM

Not Chad Johnson’s best look! Damn he looks almost as retarded as James.

#13 cmj123 on 08.30.08 at 5:05 AM

anybody find this a tad bit racist? okay massa i don’t have fine luxurious locks like you do ? and i’m native american such bs they try to pull

#14 modi on 10.07.08 at 4:50 AM

no. nobody did.

#15 Boston Knucklehead on 10.07.08 at 6:51 AM

Mr T. def. a true icon

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