Pre-Fame Jidenna Was Kind Of An Ordinary Dresser
The clothes make the man.
Jidenna's hit is called "Classic Man," and he has a very specific idea of what "classic" means: immaculately tailored suits, elegant grooming, with a cane and gloves always nearby. In his latest video, a remix for the song with with Kendrick Lamar, Jidenna plays vinyl records and drives in sleek old cars. It's old school snazzy mixed with modern swagger.
It turns out that these sartorial choices are a recent development—The New York Times' Jon Caramanica dug up some old Youtube videos of a very different Jidenna performing in 2008. In the video above, he's wearing baggy jeans and a heavy, loose-fitting jacket. Below, he takes the stage in a sweatshirt.
This gives a new biographical significance to a line in "Classic Man," you can be me when you look this clean.