The wild, wild haircut craze

Ebony, Sept, 1989

THE WILD, WILD HAIRCUT CRAZE

HEAVYWEIGHT champion Mike Tyson has "KILLER 1" cut into his hair.

Cameo pop singer Larry Blackmon sports a skyscraper flattop.

The Boys singing group display the new-wave haircut with designs cut into the sides. Eddie Murphy is carrying the new look in expressive hairstyles, albeit conservatively.

All over America, young men are spending hours -- and considerable cash--while testing their barbers' ingenuity, seeking something "different" to express themselves. New-waves, fades, housecuts, elaborate flattops, assorted styles with initials, entire words, arrows and even snakes that curl from sideburn to sideburn have become the order of the day. Some youths are getting their hair shaped into the Ethiopian Crown style--lots of locks on top and intricate "tribal" patterns etched into the sides.

"People are getting back into styling their hair naturally," says Shawn Brown, general manager of Kinapps African Groomers, a Brooklyn haircutting chain. "Some of the motifs you see men wearing on the sides of their heads evolved from traditional African art, and they are significant in their designs."

In the past, fads and trends in haircuts have grown, only to be, well, scissored away into oblivion. Until such fate befalls the new "designer haircuts," wearers will no doubt continue to make bolder fashion statements.

Mike tyson makes no bones about his supremacy in boxing, judging by the "Killer 1" etched into his haircut. Other young men are turning heads with their outrageous hairstyles.

High-school student James Baker of Miami shells out $14 every week for his "original" checkerboard haircut. "It's worth it," he says. Richmond Heights barber Arnons Israel agrees.

Kwesi Harris (right), a Los Angeles high school student, shows off his version of the "Cameo Cut" (popularized by Cameo lead singer Larry Blackmon) by displaying his African name on the closely cropped sides. Harris, whose father, Ray Harris, is vice president of Black music promotion for Warner Bros. Records, says his sister, Stacey Morris, has been cutting his hair in the modified "flattop" style for years but soon will switch to a more elaborate cut to reflect changing trends.

Seemingly lost amid the more conspicuously elaborate hairstyles of the day, the relatively conservative "Fade" haircut is a hit with recording artists such as The Boys--(l. to r.) Hakeem, Bilal, Khiry and Tahj Abdul-Samad--as well as college and professional basketball players. "Although some of the hairstyles are new, many of them are variations of styles from the 1940s," says barber Robert Linton of Miami. "Except for the lines and geometric designs, they are repeats from a bygone era."

Sean Maryoung (above) of Miami is pleased at what he sees in the mirror after receiving a "Step-Up Flattop" haircut from his barber Errol Inniss, who recommended the split-level style. "I've done rabbits, you name it, but I prefer to create my own shapes," he says. "Barbering today includes imagination and art." At left, Chicago barber Derrick (The Pirate) Williams of Hyde Park Hair Salon concurs, although he views the new direction in hairstyles as a fad. "The art is highlighted in the cultural designs of the tribal cuts," he says, "but most of my clients prefer low cuts with designer lines or conservative flattops." Sixteen-year-old Pierre Hall, for example, gets a modest new-wave cut from Williams because "all my friends at school have them."

Melvin Gentry (near right), of Baltimore says he's always worn an eccentric haircut--long before today's styles came into vogue. "Whether it was the "High Top," "Angle" or "Gumby Cut," they all attracted comments from friends and stares from the curious," says Gentry, a buyer for a record-store chain. "Now, I've settled on the "Channel Cut," which is basically maintenance-free." Eddie Alfored, 14, of Miami (far right), has a virtually hassle-free "Arrowhead" cut that his barber Larry Spring says is more popular with kids. "I believe that once they become more mature, the fad will die," he says. "Besides, they'll realize eventually the need to be more conservative, especially in the workplace."

Ossie Bunburry wanted a legal look, so hairstylist Carline Jeanniton of Kinapps African Groomers in Brooklyn gave the New York graphic design student an "Ethiopian Crown" with locks on top and designs etched into the faded sides. "We see ourselves in terms of leading the field in hairstyles," says Kinapps' general manager Shawn Brown. "We've been tapping into the natural beauty of African-Americans for four years. Indeed, the motifs we create in the sides of the haircuts evolved from motifs that are present in traditional African art."

Sporting a Cameo-inspired "High-Top Fade" by barber Robert (The Doctor) Amoros of New York, Chris Reid really doesn't need to draw attention to himself and his partner (Christopher Martin (r.), because the duo Kid 'n Play is one of the hottest rap/dance groups in the business. "I started out with a modest 'Flattop' because, initially, I was influenced by the [singer] Grace Jones look," he says. "Now, my haircut is kind of a synthesis of her style and Larry Blackmon's [Cameo's lead singer]. An English graduate of Lehman College, N.Y., Reid has postponed pre-law studies to concentrate on his current tour of the U.S.