This article is part of the i-Dentity podcast series. You can listen to the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
In series one of our i-Dentity podcast, we covered the genesis of hip-hop style, charting the rise of Dapper Dan and his DIY take on logomania – but what about the bling? Every iconic rapper has their jewels – whether its chunky gold chains, blinding diamond-encrusted logos, or cheek-to-cheek smiles of glittering diamond grills. The jewellery associated with hip-hop is just as important as the clothes, telling a story not only of social mobility and status signals, but of the very notion of luxury itself, long before TikTokers were posting about “quiet luxury”. From the streets of hip-hop’s major cities to the lyrics and artworks of its greatest albums, in the first episode of our second series of i-Dentity, we trace the story of the genre’s love affair with jewellery. Cuban chains and diamond grills didn’t just add to the look of hip-hop; its movers and shakers actively crafted the look and feel of the jewels we see everywhere today, both from major jewellery houses and within youth culture alike.
The jewels of hip-hop, often created in a collaborative process between rappers and their neighbourhood jewellers instead of major luxury houses, were bold expressions of personal style, announcing to the world their change in fortune – and harking back to ancient displays of wealth and community in cultures around the world. The more records they sold, the bigger the jewels got and the more diamonds glittered from the necks of some of hip-hop’s most iconic rappers. As we’ve seen in fashion, the jewellery worn by rappers past and present is oft-criticised for its OTT opulence – with many established names at the time deeming it as vulgar – but, like the story of the music itself, hip-hop’s drip tells its own tale of identity, social mobility, representation and reclamation of ancient history, filtered through diamonds, platinum and gold. Though it was unbranded at the time, its influence can now be felt in every major luxury jewellery brand today.
In this episode, Osman Ahmed, i-D’s Fashion Features Director, explores the complex role of jewellery in hip-hop, tracing its symbolism way back to ancient times via the unsung heroes who pioneered new ways for rappers to express themselves – albeit in diamonds. We speak to Vikki Tobak, author of Ice Cold. A Hip-Hop Jewelry History, about its roots and cultural influence, as well as its rise from America’s hip-hop hotbeds to the houses of Place Vendôme. Lyle Lindgren, filmmaker and co-author of the book Mouth Full of Golds, recounts the origins of the ultimate hip-hop statement piece – grills – while Gabby Pinhasov and his son Elan, grill-craftsmen to the likes of Pharrell, Marc Jacobs, A$AP Rocky and Kim Kardashian, take us back to the early 90s in New York City, where Gabby first began his trade.