Maybachs, Bentleys and BMWs might be the four-wheeled vehicles of choice for most hip-hop stars, but now contemporary rappers are ditching walking all together in favour of two-wheeled transport and, in some cases, hoverboards.
On Sunday Wiz Khalifa was arrested after he refused to leave what he claimed was a “hoverboard” while at Los Angeles international airport, joining the long list of hip-hop and R&B artists who have converted to two-wheeled rather than two-legged transport.
Justin Bieber was pictured rolling around on an IO Hawk (they’re described as “personal motorized transporters” by the company and don’t actually hover, unlike the Hendo hoverboard), as were Kylie Jenner, Chris Brown, Souljah Boy and Young Thug. Rap group Migos were stopped from riding their IO Hawks through a shopping centre when they launched their own clothing line, and Khalifa has used a similar device (the PhunkeeDuck) while shopping. Time magazine named the IO Hawk one of the coolest pieces of tech from CES 2015, alongside Mercedes’ driverless car. So why are rappers so attached to these small, seemingly daft devices?
Retailing at $1,799.99, the IO Hawk is essentially a Segway without a handlebar, with the user controlling motion with his or her body position (tilting forward to move forward and backwards to slow down).
It’s not surprising that rap stars – the majority of whom are in their 20s, male and have a huge amount of disposable income and time – have found the IO Hawk, hoverboards and PhunkeeDuck appealing.
When I spent time on tour with 2 Chainz he went everywhere on a Segway. The only time I saw him off it was on stage and when he was sat down. For the first hour or so it was bizarre to see him float around surrounded by a gaggle of security guards trying to keep up, but after a while it made sense. Why would you walk when you could roll instead?
The issue seems to be now that rappers are refusing to leave their devices at all. After being arrested for not leaving his board, Khalifa tweeted “I stand for our generation and our generation is gonna be riding hover boards”, a rallying cry for all millennials with the best part of two grand to chuck about on a glorified scooter that can get you arrested.
Will his arrest be a watershed moment in the “roll don’t walk” revolution? We’ll have to wait and see.
