“It was like he was being knighted or something,” Marriott says. In “Ice Cold,” music journalist Rob Marriott describes how an up-and-coming producer-turned-emcee named Kanye West received his chain from Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon “Dame” Dash: a moment that West included in the music video for his 2003 single “Through the Wire.” No matter what the pendant looked like, it was always a privilege to receive one. Hanging from a chain, the oversized charm spelled out “Death Row” over the macabre image of a man strapped to an electric chair. The most notorious of the bunch was the one put out by the West Coast’s Death Row Records, home to ’90s-era chart-toppers such as Dr. Getty ImagesĪs hip-hop became a thriving, multimillion-dollar industry and competition between performers grew fiercer, labels created their own pendants as a way to honor - and mark - their signees. Kanye West rocks his Roc-A-Fella Records pendant. “Hip-hop was kids who came from the ’hood and had nothing, who were trying their best to show the world that they had value,” rapper and activist Talib Kweli says in the film.
The necklaces - from simple links to chunky box-chains - were used as a way for artists, who often came from low-income neighborhoods, to show they were gaining access to wealth.
Rappers wore hefty gold chains in the 1980s, when MTV took hip-hop mainstream and performers such as Slick Rick, Run-DMC and LL Cool J started making more money. Chains Preeminent rappers Run-DMC wore massive gold chains as their signature look. people achieve massive levels of success and accumulate material items, they oftentimes like talking about it.”īelow, some highlights from the story of hip-hop jewelry, and the types of pieces that have sparkled - and sparked criticism - along the way. “The same way as if you went to some wealthy family in the South and they had an expansive, multigeneration wine collection. “Everyone was excited,” Gill said of his high-profile subjects. Gill said that’s why the top-tier rappers he interviewed - including the trio from Migos (who also executive-produced the film), Lil Yachty and A$AP Ferg - were so eager to dish about their multimillion-dollar collections on camera. or ring, like if you win an NBA championship, when you release an album.” LL Cool J started wearing gold chains early on in his career. “Hip-hop culture isn’t like a sport,” Gill said. Gill, who spent four years on this project, said that the tradition of rappers sporting lavish, eye-catching baubles - from enormous diamond stud earrings to gem-speckled chain necklaces - is all about stars finding ways to acknowledge, and communicate, their successes. “I think a lot of people don’t realize how these pieces and creative expression through jewelry - whether it’s a bracelet, or a pendant or whatever - they’re viewed as trophies,” director Karam Gill told The Post.
#Gold filled hip hop jewelry series
The series - which was also featured in last month’s Tribeca Film Festival - examines why outrageous jewels have become such a vital part of hip-hop culture. That’s the premise of “Ice Cold,” a new four-part documentary on YouTube, premiering Thursday. It takes big stones to make it in hip-hop. How much is the cheapest ticket for a concert at NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center? Where are Gorillaz going on their short 2023 tour? How much are tickets to see Action Bronson live in 2023? We found last-minute Roots Picnic Festival tickets.
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