Untied Sneakers & Sagged Pants

…The reason why they (hip-hoppers) wear untied sneakers and pants sagging down not fitting is because of those tough guys from their neighborhood that “got busted” and ended up in the “slammer” or jail. When arrested the first thing that is taken away from them is their shoestrings and belts to so-call prevent them from committing suicide. This would result in your pants sagging and the untied shoe effect. This became a symbol that you were tough and rough and that you had been to jail. Gradually as marketers saw a market for it, they created a style, made posters and planted them across the town. Benetton, Pringles, Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, to name a few, started incorporating this degrading image into their commercials and it became a style or simply stylish.

Excerpted from Are There Black Devils? by Dr. Malachi Z. York-El.