Soul Patch of Cool

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This trope associates soul patches with cool, tough, and rebellious characters. In the 1950s and '60s, Jazz was considered a "high-class" genre of music, and had a formal dress code that required men to be clean-shaven.

This caused a culture clash because of post-shave skin sensitivity and skin irritation. African-American musicians disliked the feeling of their instrument's mouthpiece on their clean-shaven lower lip. In response, musicians created the soul patch, a small patch of hair on the lower lip, so they could play their instruments comfortably.

The source of the soul patch's name is a convoluted history, to say the least; Dizzy Gillespie was the most famous wearer of the soul patch during his time and is believed to be one who created the style or the one who made it popular among fellow musicians. Gillespie called it his "jazz dab", while Gillespie's fans nicknamed it the "Dizzy Gillespie beard" in his honor. The official name of the soul patch was based on its association with soul music, and this new name is tied to The Blues Brothers. They are often cited as the source of the soul patch's boost in popularity in The '80s after their first appearance on SNL with their sketch "Soul Man".

This practical choice would eventually become part of an ever-growing fashion trend. The style evolved from their roots of Jazz and has spread into different cultures— Beatnik, Emo, Grunge, and Rock & Roll— simultaneously evolving into different styles as a result. The beatnik culture integrated a goatee, a small pointed beard that grows on the chin and lacks the mustache, which prevents it from forming a complete circle.

These genres of music didn't just share a style of facial hair. Blues, Jazz, and Rock & Roll were all referred to as the "Devil's music" by religious fundamentalists, deeming them morally corrupt and sinful. This criticism is what likely inspired the patch's alignment with antiheroes, who were the '90s Anti-Hero, the Nominal Hero, or the Unscrupulous Hero. Demons and monsters are depicted with soul patches, goatees, and chin tufts.

These accusations are believed to have inspired the 20th-century depictions of Satan, despite the Devil's association with music having existed long before that. The Devil was previously associated with dancing, as shown by the idiom "Dance with the Devil" which means "to engage in risky, reckless, or potentially immoral behavior.", the fiddle instrument was connected to him since the 1600s, and there were stories of the Devil directly aiding and giving ideas to musicians. In 1655, Thomas Balthazar had his feet checked for cloven hooves after a performance, and Giuseppe Tartini famously claimed he was directly inspired by a visit from the Devil when he created the "Devil's Trill Sonata". Although Satan's satyr-inspired look was inspired by Pan of Greek mythology, Satan's facial hair could have ironically been inspired by these "Devil music" accusations.

Characters with soul patches stick to their musical roots, having the characters have ties to music, either through a love of music, an enthusiasm for music, or having a music career. Its association with soul music became a small component in the early stages of the archetypal Soul Brotha character design. Beatniks, hippies, and metalheads are likelier to have a variation of the goatee than a soul patch. For young adults and teenage characters, the soul patch implies a lack of maturity and overall delinquency as they cause trouble.

Soul Patches were at the height of popularity during the '90s. In the 21st century, however, soul patches are rarely worn because they are largely treated as a product of the '90s that failed to make the transition to the 21st century. Soul patches are now more of an accessory to other beard and mustache styles, rather than something that is worn as an individual or separate style of facial hair.

For this trope to apply, the style should be only on the lower lip or the chin. The cheeks and upper lip must be clean-shaven or have light stubble. Goatees should lack the mustache that turns into a complete circle. The wearer must also be a musician, a fan of music, or confirmed to be a beatnik to apply to the trope criteria.

Can go with Good Hair, Evil Hair and Beard of Evil. Sister trope to Goatee of Intellect, which is when goatees and circle beards are associated with intelligence.

Examples: