MSD

It's a trend. It started among ex-cons to prove their street cred. When you're booked, they take your belt so you can't hang yourself. Because gang members had already adopted baggy pants as a way to conceal guns, drugs, and anything else they wouldn't want spotted easily, their pants would sag to between their hips and knees. When they got out of jail, they sagged their pants as a way of showing that they had done time. Naturally, younger and less experienced members of the social group, in this case the gangs, did it. Once a few rappers adopted the style, it spread to urban areas. Once Yo! MTV Raps awakened white suburban youth across the country to rap music, it became nearly universal among young men. Once a simple trend that anyone with pants can join in on starts, there's no stopping it.