While we're talking about sagging pants, here's something I thought I'd use to juice the attention for all its worth share.

If you saw the VMA's Sunday -- and who could blame you if you didn't? -- you saw Lil Wayne perform with no shirt and his pants, way, way down off his butt.

With this garb, it's a societal mirror: the more the rappers do it, the more the kids do it, and so on. But before we blame rappers, remember that they're entertainers. Like other elements of hip hop culture, this particular facet of expression has been appropriated into real life in a contrast against societal norms. In other words, when Eminem raps about putting someone in a trunk, or when Nelly talks about making it rain or when Rick Ross talks about moving weight, these aren't things most people incorporate into their real lives. Jeans, however, are fairly democratic; they are easy to buy and wear low. Unlike a diamond chain or a yacht or a posse, they are within reach and allow everyone belonging.

But here's another thought. Certainly Lil Wayne knew what he was going to wear onstage at the VMAs, right? He put some thought into it, right? Or someone did; you can be sure he has a stylist on the payroll. So what does it mean that he came on stage in no shirt and sagging pants? Sex.

Despicable as some might find Lil Wayne's choice of clothing, it fits into a larger canon of black male musicians for whom clothing and sexuality were intertwined. Think about James Brown, and his jumpsuits with the chest exposed. Think about Isaac Hayes, who took to the stage shirtless, in chains, and revealing tights. Think about Fela Kuti, who often appeared onstage in his underwear. Take Prince, whose sexual clothing ran the gamut from bikinis to androgyny to, as it happens, also exposing his bum...at the VMAS. Talk about honoring the legends!

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