Ever send out an email you felt in your gut was false? Ok raise your hand. I used to run with hoaxes and spread them before checking the facts so my cousin teased me about being the "conspiracy king". I don't do that any more but there are a lot of people out there who still do - I mean the sending hoaxes thing. Example if you have been using the Internet for at least a year you have probably read the Poem about various white clothing designers, which were alleged to have been written by Maya Angelou. It's a hoax but it still getting emailed around. In case you don't know what I am talking about here is a quick excerpt of the poem "Clothes" by somebody claiming to be Maya Angelou

*This is a poem by Maya Angelou to blacks and a message for us to think about. Please read carefully and try to interpret as best you can.) *

"You are in love with Tommy, because his last name is Hillfiger, but behind closed doors, Tommy calls you Nigger. But you could care less, because you have been taught to dress to impress.

If I ask you about your true history, you would have to look on the back of your jeans and Guess. You come up in the club wearing Versace, clothes made by a homosexual male. So even when you say you are straight it is very hard to tell.

I cannot forget Nautica, when was the last memory you have of ships? Coming to North America in shackles, being beaten over the back with whips.

And to my beautiful black queens, whose creative womb has become barren. I am confused because your face says Nefertiti, but your sweater reads Donna Karen.

When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne, conversing with black women? But as soon as her name is printed on a purse, to Macy's you quickly go, running.

Ralph Lauren doesn't even look at black men, unless they are driving him around town, but as soon as that slave master appears on the back of a horse, you put whatever you have picked up down.

My people reclaim your status in this world and in your life, Fubu in case you didn't know, stand for (For Us By Us). Buying black will someday suffice.

Do you know who owns Timberland fashion? Well, Timberland is owned by the president of the KKK, Surprised? Don't be. Read more books black people. Always hope for the best and prepare for the worst, You may not get what you pay for, but you'll surely pay for what you get. - Maya Angelou 

PLEASE SEND THIS TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS SO EVERYONE WILL KNOW THE DEAL. Okay my boy Bruce Banner is a hoax buster and he says rule of thumb "beware anything that says send to all of your friends." Banner said, "It's simply not necessary to slander others to get them to buy our clothes, especially because black and Latin rappers singing about these guys clothes and footwear (for free) is what makes them rich in the first place". One reason FUBU blew up cause LL Cool J was riding for them. However these types of emails which get heavy rotation did soften up the buyers to the "minority designer".

Maya Angelou never wrote this poem and most of it, if not all of it, is filled with lies designed to garner reaction in the targeted communities. Just like the rumor that Hillfigger, Liz Claiborne or somebody had appeared on Oprah and said 'I only make clothes for white people.' The HOAX was so out of hand that Oprah had to address it and say it was a lie, and the person never appeared on her show, etc. People working for urban designers wanting to break the stranglehold that the mostly white designers had on our pocket books probably started this. I empathize with the reasoning but it's just not fair to perpetuate and keep alive these rumors. Its not necessary to slander others to get people to buy your product, it should be something that urban communities recognize the need for. It's basic Economics 101.

The fake Maya Angelou email worked especially for the Karl Kani and P.Diddy's of the world. In fact the trick worked so good White designers are in the red. I came across a March 2003 NY Times article that basically said that the white designers done gone out of business in the urban communities.

The cash registers of Polo and Nautica have stopped ringing. Tommy Hillfigger who I once heard a white businessman call "King Of the Ghetto" has also had his ghetto license revoked. Tommy Hillfigger's financials for the fourth quarter of 2002 were at a loss of $22.1 million on sales of $477.3 million; overall sales have dropped to 1.9 billion. In no way is that petty cash, but it's far from where he stood five years ago. The company is closing 37 out of 44 Tommy Hillfiger specialty shops in the US, some of which were just opened a few months ago.

While Hillfigger was crying P-Diddy had a good year, in terms of his business ventures. His real success comes from his clothing line, Sean John. Sean John brought in over $100 million for the CEO according to comments in Newsweek.

Joel J. Horowitz, Tommy Hillfigger's chief executive says that the denim business is now dominated by urban brands who have become successful in using their own logos. He says Tommy, "needs to be more fashion-right with the denim details that we put forth through fabric or sophisticated washes, and compete more on the product side versus the logo side." So Tommy took Horowitz's advice, his new approach. A billboard above the West Side Highway in Manhattan featuring what a competitor described as "Pacific Sunwear meets Ralph Lauren meets `From Here to Eternity','" Analysts and others in the retail industry have wondered why he has switched his game so dramatically. It's simple the hood got no more love for Tommy and his cash register is hurting.

Now urban designers got in the game and blew the doors off the retail. They are doing so well that the celebrities see it as a cash cow. "Jenny from the Block got a clothing line now". Nelly launched his own clothing line called Vokal. Outkast recently launched their own clothing line called Outkast Clothing. Trina launched a new clothing line called Diamond Princess Wear. The clothing line has a variety of styles, from casual wear to "glammed up night attire." Ja Rule is launching his own clothing line called "Mogul," a clothing line Rule described as "high end, street apparel." Bryan "Baby" Williams aka Birdman is creating a new line of urban street wear called Life Clothing. Baby's line will feature denims, T-shirts, and other clothing with mink and 14 karat gold threading in the clothes. According to allhiphop.com even Dave Mays from The Source is opening up a Source clothing line. Mays said "that he intends for the line to arrive in stores nationwide just in time for the 2003 fall school year. (Ironically, Eminem and Ice-T stated that they would also aim to release clothing lines during the same period.) The Source collection will target lower end retail outlets like JC Penney and Target chains instead of higher end specialty chains that most rap lines have sought." Unfortunately even rapper Beanie Sigel launched his own line of clothing called State Property Wear, which prides itself in its appeal to drugs and violence. It distinguishes itself from other brands with hidden pockets, and gun holsters. I know that seems like unbelievable nonsense but follow the link for proof www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=1166. Fortunately the choice is not between this and Hillfigger, because if it were, then I would rather roll with Tommy. 

I named 10 but there are more clothing lines by celebrities, most targeting an urban market, even though many of them are not getting much distribution or selling much despite their celebrity backers. I guess with everybody doing it, this is understandable and it may be a sign that urban retail may be getting saturated real fast (like the music industry) by rap parasites like Sigel. Whatever the case, make your own decisions on what to buy, but don't do it based on some hoax email. Then again you could always be like me and not buy any of that overpriced stuff from anybody. There are more important things to spend your money on.

The views and opinions expressed herein by the author do not necessarily represent the opinions or position of Playahata.com.