Image via Complex Original
Remember back when Jim Carey was an A-list celebrity (think about it: dude hasn't made a popular, well-received movie in like 10 years) and he made The Mask? Not for nothing, as an impressionable kid watching him spin in circles (amazing what passed for "cool graphics" back then) you might have bought into the whole idea of the transformative power of that magical green mask.
It wasn't just that mask, though. All your favorite superheroes wore masks. (Except for Superman because, as Bill points out in Kill Bill, Clark Kent was in fact his mask.) Spiderman wore a mask and went from nerdy photographer to kick-ass webslinger. Batman wore a mask and fought crime to avenge childhood trauma—and look how well adjusted he is! (Okay fine, maybe that's a bad example.) Point being, masks are cool even when it's not Halloween.
In recent years, rap has embraced the mask as a fashion statement. Tyler, The Creator really ushered it in when he started rocking his janky green ski mask with the creepy upside-down cross markered on it. These days, on the opposite side of the spectrum, Kanye West has been covering his face with crystal Maison Martin Margiela during the Yeezus tour. It got us thinking about some of the other rappers who have put on disguise with A Recent History of Rappers Wearing Masks.
RELATED: We've Got Your Halloween Costume Taken Care Of: Rapper/Animal Hybrids
DOOM
Year: 1997 - Present
DMX
Year: Late 90s
Eminem during The Anger Management Tour
Year: 2000
Young Buck on the special edition cover of Straight Outta Ca$hville
Year: 2004
Prodigy
Year: Mid-2000s
Ghostface Killah
Year: 2007
Jay Z
Year: 2009
50 Cent in the video for "OK, You're Right"
Year: 2009
Nicki Minaj
Year: 2011
Lil Wayne in the video for "HYFR"
Year: 2011
Tyler, The Creator at the MTV Woodie Awards
Year: 2011
Joey Bada$$ & Capital Steez in the video for "Survival Tactics"
Year: 2012
French Montana
Year: 2012
Kanye West at Revel in Atlantic City
Year: 2012
Snoop Dogg on Instagram
Year: 2012
A$AP Mob
Year: 2012
Kanye West
Year: 2013
Travis $cott at SXSW
Year: 2013
Wiz Khalifa on Instagram
Year: 2013
2 Chainz in Detroit, MI
Year: 2013
A$AP Ferg and A$AP Rocky
Year: 2013
Kanye West during the "Yeezus" Tour
Year: 2013