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Jun 21, 20223 min read

Gold Chains and Diamonds: How Hip-Hop Artists Influenced Jewellery Design

‘Rap has always been about struggle in one form or another, while jewellery in rap has always symbolised escaping that struggle.’ - Brain Roberts.


When depicting a hip-hop artist an element that comes to mind immediately would be the impressive jewels hanging around their neck. Adorned with expensive gemstones and precious metals, hip-hop artists have influenced the jewellery industry predominantly through the exposure of their jewels, through album covers and music videos, which has evolved how jewellery is created for successful music artists around the world.


An unexpected genesis of utilising jewellery for display of status and wealth was the richest individual in history, King Mansa Mura, who ruled East Africa from 1312-1337. His Royal Highness was documented saying that one should exhibit their wealth through wearing extravagant gold and stoned jewellery. King Mansa Mura was somewhat of a trendsetter as this demonstration of wealth continued throughout history, with royal families adopting this same approach and adorning themselves with expensive jewels. As Shenead Poroosotum stated, contemporary rappers have continued with this trend and they too express their riches through their many jewellery pieces.




Despite the birth of hip-hop begin in the 1970s, it wasn’t until a decade later in the 1980s, when hip-hop was evolving, did artists begin to overtly display their wealth through their jewellery. As Brain Roberts conveyed;


‘It [hip-hop] began to grow from its disco-inspired, block party roots to a multi-dimensional art form ready to be taken seriously by America’s mainstream.’


Kurtis Blow, the first hip-hop artist to reach a gold-selling status, was the first to wear a gold chain on his self-titled debut album, bringing hip-hop jewellery, as Roberts stated, into the American mainstream.





Progressing into the 1990s, hip-hop jewellery was evolving once more. As rapping became more commercialised, the jewellery was becoming part of the marketing of the artist. An example of this was with Biggie Smalls, also known as The Notorious B.I.G., who wore a chain with a Jesus pendant, designed by Tito the Jeweler, and was the last chain he wore before he was murdered. The Jesus pendant has become synonymous with Biggie and other artists who admired his work, such as Jay Z and Lil Kim, have worn similar designs in memorial to the late rapper. Through this demonstration of appreciation to Biggie through the Jesus pendant, the evolution of jewellery design is evident. Beginning with gold chains, bespoke pendants and pieces designed specifically for an artist had become the industry standard when a hip-hop artist has made it into the mainstream and began earning a reputation for themselves.




Continuing further into the 2000s, hip-hop jewellery became bigger than ever. As the music industry was changing alongside the jewellery industry, mainstream artists, such as 50 Cent and Lil Jon, began receiving brand deals and sponsorships for major brands such as the partnership between Jay Z and his sneaker line with Reebok. With this, more and more money was available to music artists resulting in their jewellery designs becoming ever-more extravagant. Chains and pendants were now being iced-out [covered in diamonds] and Grillz [mouth pieces] were becoming fashionable. Hip-hop jewellery had rapidly reached a new era, where rappers were now buying multiple accessories including; large hooped earrings, rings, bracelets and grillz to name a few. This alongside the more flamboyant display of wealth, through the popular use of gemstones, new language began to develop with the term ‘bling bling’ being used to describe this new extravagant period of jewellery design. The term ‘bling bling’ was even added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2004, further solidifying this new age of grandiose into the mainstream.




Ultimately, through the evolving exposure and acceptance of hip-hop artists into the mainstream, the jewels accompanying the artists had become more extravagant in style and became more personal to the individual. Nevertheless, what the jewellery signified to the world was the display of wealth and status of the artist and that continues to be the case today, and is expected to evolve again with the increasing trajectory in hip-hop popularity within mainstream music.


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Cover image from: https://www.therichest.com/



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