A funny thing happened to Friend, DJ/Producer Philly's own King Britt in the late 90s. Marketers scrambling to connect with the hip Metropolitan progressive Gen-X demographic made him an unwitting icon. At the time Britt released the Sylk 130 project, a unique soul collective produced by Britt with local Philly talent. Completely different from the "jiggy era" hip-hop/r&b hybrids that ruled the day, it escaped mainstream acceptance and has become a cult fixation recognized as the genesis of what is now branded "neo-soul".
Back to those marketers, they recognized the appeal of a "black alternative" metropolitan lifestyle and the Afro Guy with Glasses (AFG) was born. No, he's not a B-boy* or Cristal popping Versace jockey, those belong to other campaigns. The AFG is thrift-store smart, always ready with a bon mot at the local cafe and has abandoned the threatening thug mug for a perma-grin. No gaudy Jacob the Jeweler for this guy, strictly wooden beads and the occasional brass Ankh.
There he is in the Roxio ad, burning that Rufus f. Chaka Khan vinyl he copped from his mom's basement to CD. There he is again completing the pre-hipster tableau with Goofy Dreadlock Bicycle-courier White Guy and Asian Vegan Paint-smeared Smock Artist chick promoting health insurance. Is he a DJ? Who knows, but he always has those headphones around his neck, cans not earbuds, AFG always keeps it retro. King Britt is a DJ and wears glasses and typically maintains some form of afro, but that's it. The rest is a fabrication by pre-millenial Mad Men. There oughta be a royalty check for prototypes, though.
Continuing with this theme, I hope to excavate the archives, scan and post AFG's and the like as I find them. feel free to help via email. In the meantime, sharpen your skills with the above visual test. King Britt/Not King Britt...Go!
*B-boys have been exclusively Caucasian since 2000 see "Step It Up"**
** Better yet, don't.
Answer Key: KB/NKB(FTHC)/KB/NKB(EB)/NKB(HH)/KB/NKB(AFG)/NKB(GD)
No comments:
Post a Comment