Few baseball hats have impacted the hip-hop culture as much as the current White Sox cap that debuted in the 90s.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of hip-hop — it was 50 years ago today that the genre was born in The Bronx — the Chicago White Sox are producing a short documentary highlighting the team’s rebrand in the 90s and its intersection with hip-hop, pop culture and fashion. On the genre’s anniversary on Friday, the White Sox released a short trailer teasing the documentary that will air on August 24.
The documentary discusses the era that led to the popularization of the White Sox hat and apparel. The documentary will also explore what the Sox hat symbolizes and how it impacts the culture and community of those who are still proud to wear the hat today. The interview list is a star-studded group of members closely tied to the White Sox rebrand in the 90s: Ice Cube, Vic Mensa, Don C, co-founders of the Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Museum, Rhymefest and front office employees involved in the rebrand will all be featured.
The 90s were an exciting time for the White Sox, who presented the perfect storm for their new hat and apparel to permeate the hip-hop community. After the rebranded uniforms debuted during the last homestand at Comiskey Park in Sep. 1990, Guarantee Rate Field — also formerly known as Comiskey Park — officially opened in April 1991.
With new uniforms in place, the White Sox also welcomed star players and personalities like Frank Thomas and Bo Jackson into the fold. After winning 93 games and the AL West in 1993, an even bigger player and personality came into the fold in 1994 when Michael Jordan announced his retirement from basketball and pursued a career in professional baseball. Few minor league players have attracted the attention that Jordan did during his stint with the Birmingham Barons in 1994.
As the Sox excelled and the apparel made it into the mainstream, the hip-hop community was at the forefront of rocking the rebranded hat. Outside of the classic Yankees and Dodgers caps, perhaps no hat is as synonymous with hip-hop culture as the White Sox cap.
The hat’s first non-baseball mainstream appearance came in Ice Cube’s famous Steady Mobbin’ music video that came out in 1991. From there, the hat’s popularity only rose and found a home within the hip-hop community.
