The hair is tapered from the scalp to 1 cm (0.4 in) in length from the edge of the hairline up 2 cm (0.8 in). The rest of the hair is left the same length, usually 2–5 cm (0.8–2.0 in), depending on the preference of the client.
The hairstyle's origins emerged alongside New York barber's Shape-Up, edge up, or line up hair style worn by inner city youth and hip hop artists in the early 1980s.
Today it is seen as a staple hairstyle amongst African Americans, and is a popular hairstyle amongst Italian Americans, South Asian Americans, Arab Americans and Mexican Americans and in the American Hip hop, Pop music and House Music subcultures; as well as internationally in countries such as the UK, France, Germany and Spain.[citation needed]