Are you old enough to remember when Hip-Hop was called a fad?
It’s hard to picture there was ever a time like this, when the likes of Drake, Snoop, or Jay-Z didn’t frequent our public imagination. When popular music meant ongoing playlists of classic rock, pop, Motown hits, and R&B. Not saying anything was wrong with this music. I loved my radio wherever there was one—in my bedroom, in the car, at a friend’s house— and I usually loved whatever came out of it. Rap music just hadn’t found its radio home yet. I grew up in a small town so we were some of the last people it seemed to hear about Run DMC. But I had a tv and my town had its share of a few record stores. I remember how people used to talk about rap, about hip-hop. Do you remember when people were scared hip-hop would corrupt their kids? I remember those parental advisory stickers on vinyl, how it felt when I’d pick up one of those albums. I was in love, but I remember folks trying to convince me hip-hop was just a silly crush, an adolescent trend. Nothing serious. Definitely not a genre to stand the tests of time.
People once said similar things about jazz.
When I think of some attitudes our industry grapples with around BIPOC fragrance brands saying ‘We are here and we are not an anomaly’, or Black perfumers wondering if sharing their cultural stories freely in the same light as other cultures might hurt sales or exclude potential audiences, or feeling they can’t call themselves a perfumer unless they attend a school in France—it sparks familiar memories for me from years ago, when I’d come across those parental advisories, explicit lyric stickers on album covers at the local record store and rap music was approached with caution by the music establishment and worried parents.
Music lovers already knew rap music was a gift despite others who joked it’d go nowhere. They were falling in love too. They told their friends about it. Listened to it loyally whenever they could. Memorized lyrics. Made music of their own. They applauded when rap stars became movie stars and film directors and producers and fashion icons….
It took a minute for the industry heads to understand what love the world was giving them.
Now there is hip-hop in every corner of the world— influencing, inspiring, creating connections.
One day, we might have a similar conversation about Black perfumers. How the rise in Black-owned fragrance brands positively impacted the industry as a whole worldwide. How there are fragrance consumers who desire to be universally seen and represented, who want fragrances to give them nuanced attention like a good lover who whispers, ‘It’s ok, you’re beautiful, you don’t have to hide.
3 Love-Explicit Fragrances to Make Your Heart Grow Universally Fonder
Zernell Gillie Fragrances ~ Hip-Hop ($110/30ml)
“Hip-hop was inspired by my love of the nineties hip-hop scene, notably WuTang and A Tribe Called Quest,” says Zernell Gillie, founder of Los Angeles-based Zernell Gillie Fragrances. “It’s a really smooth fragrance. People say it’s sexy and sultry. People wonder what it has to do with hip-hop, but it’s the creaminess—‘cash rules everything around me, cream’ from WuTang.’ It opens up fresh with black currant and fruits, then the saffron gives it a bit of warmth and leather while the cognac makes it feel like a fresh gourmand.” The top notes are bergamot, black currant, saffron, and cognac; heart notes are hedione, labdanum, and green notes; base notes are white musk, ambroxan, cacao, and dark chocolate. Unisex.
Maison Sambin ~ Osun (€179/1.69fl oz)
“I grew up immersed in Caribbean and African culture,” says founder Erold Sambin of Maison Sambin, based in France. “My mother asked me to create a perfume for her, so I continued in this direction. With Maison Sambin, culture is universal and Osun is a fragrance story inspired by Yoruba culture. In our family, we are really attached to our ancestral stories, so I choose to tell ancestor stories through perfume. Osun represents fertility, the river, love, sex appeal, and protection. So, when people want to have love, or have babies, they celebrate Osun. We created this perfume with the emotional inspiration and character first, even before starting with notes. Perfume is timeless.” Key notes are orange, honey and cinnamon scents with spicy and animalic undertones. Unisex.
Memoir Fragrances ~ Gypsy Eyes ($150/50ml)
“Gypsy Eyes was inspired by the movie Love Jones, a sophisticated, nostalgic Black love story,” says founder Terrance Pratt of Chicago-based Memoir Fragrances. “The whole movie was shot in Chicago and Larenz Tate is from Chicago. He was a poet in the movie and when I moved to Chicago I performed poetry as a hobby at an open mic, so this fragrance ties this together. Gypsy Eyes is the name of the book Larenz Tate writes in the movie and gives to Nia Long. The whole line of Memoir Fragrances is tied to a real moment in my life. Chicago was where I found myself, so it’s a homage of me finding my way. Chicago is this amazing city and I wanted to make a fragrance that’s like remembering what it’s like to be courted. Those butterflies in your stomach type of love.” Top notes are whisky, bergamot, musk; heart notes are oud, rose and caramel; base notes are tobacco, vanilla and sandalwood.
Let their olfactory artistry transport you, igniting your senses and celebrating the vibrant heritage poured into every drop. Uncover hidden gems, support visionary creators, and discover scents that become more than just fragrances- they become a powerful statement of your own individuality.
Click here to discover 8 more groundbreaking Black-owned brands that are reshaping the future of scent.
