Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Stage pants worn by Professor Griff
Stage Pants Worn by Professor Griff of Public Enemy
Stage pants worn by Professor Griff

Stage Pants Worn by Professor Griff of Public Enemy

Performing artist Professor Griff
Associated name Public Enemy
Datec. 1990
Mediumcotton (textile)
DimensionsOverall (Width x Length): 26 3/4 × 40 3/4 in. (67.945 × 103.505 cm)
Credit LineGift of Kavon Shah, MoPOP permanent collection
Object number1999.158.4
Text Entries

Hip-Hop is one of the musical genres that embodies political and revolutionary thought and fashion into contemporary street wear. Many artists dressed in military style surplus clothing, fatigues, camouflage, and military-style boots. Public Enemy was a group that adopted the military aesthetic early in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Formed in Long Island, New York in 1986, the politically charged group were known for their renegade lyrics and protest songs like “Fight the Power” and “Burn Hollywood Burn.”  The S1Ws - a sub-group of Public Enemy - was known to wear military fatigues and parade on stage like a squad of guerillas. In 1988, the group was pictured wearing a woodland camo pattern during the promotion of their album It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back. Public Enemy is considered the first Hip-Hop group to adopt camouflage and the military-style look.

Richard Griffin (b. 1960), better known by his stage name Professor Griff is a rapper and past member of the Hip-Hop group Public Enemy who served as the group's Minister of Information.

Solid black trousers.
CopyrightThis work is issued under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
On View
Not on view
" Falcon" brand pop-up hat worn by Professor Griff
Professor Griff
Date: c. 1990
Medium: cotton (textile)
Object number: 1999.158.2
Jacket worn by Professor Griff
Professor Griff
Date: c. 1990
Medium: cotton (textile)
Object number: 1999.158.3
X-Clan Airbrushed Shirt
Professor X
Date: 1990-1995
Medium: cotton (textile)
Object number: 1999.477.13
Public Enemy baseball cap formerly worn by Chuck D
Chuck D
Date: c. 1990
Medium: cotton
Object number: 2001.448.1
Leather jacket: formerly owned by Kurtis Blow
Kurtis Blow
Date: c. 1985
Medium: leather
Object number: 1999.221.1,.2
"Creole" Leather Pants Worn by The Kidd Creole
The Kidd Creole
Date: c. 1984
Medium: leather
Object number: 1998.805.2
Fearless Sweatsuit Pants Designed by Dapper Dan and Worn by Master O.C.
Ennovyd
Date: c. 1980
Medium: nylon
Object number: 1999.206.2
Morticia Addams Costume Worn by Anjelica Huston in the Films "The Addams Family" and "Addams Family Values"
Anjelica Huston
Date: c. 1991
Medium: cotton (textile)
Object number: 2023.42.94
Michael Jackson Stage-Worn Costume from "Going Back to Indiana" and Other Concerts
Michael Jackson
Date: 1971
Medium: polyester; suede; metal; elastic (textile material)
Object number: 2023.42.44.A,.B
Low res. jpg. image- NOT publication quality
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Date: 2012
Medium: wool (textile); cotton (textile); silk (textile)
Object number: 2023.42.401.1-.4
Large format image
Robin Wright
Date: 1987
Medium: silk (textile); cotton (textile); plastic; metal
Object number: 2023.42.92.A-.C
Adventures of Superman
Date: c. 1954
Medium: wool (hair); cotton (textile); silk (textile); felt; leather
Object number: 2023.42.303.A-.F