Welcome to the 169th insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we bundle up to explore the fine art of ‘ice’, the only topic colder than dollar bills and diamond grillz.
Hip-hop and jewellery are so intertwined they’re practically symbiotic. Ever since Eric B & Rakim were Paid in Full, it's been foreign to see a rapper without a chain, ring or grill in their mouth. Something about that shine is just inseparable from a culture so deeply ingrained in ‘flexing’, whether it’s to uphold an image, outcompete your billboard peers, or simply create a beautiful piece.
In the beginning, gold chains and ‘grillz’ became the soundtrack to East coast style. On the backs of The Notorious B.I.G, Flava Flav and Public Enemy, many rappers would begin to trade their pearly whites for a warmer tone, setting a president of wealth back in the 80s. LL Cool J would lend a hand in popularizing four-finger rings, but Biz Markie would bust the pipes, flooding his with encrusted diamonds.
Among such, early adaptations of ‘iced out’ jewellery were seen in Nas and Biggie’s Jesus chains, but few had reached the luxury watch market. It’s alleged that a Grandmaster and the Furious Five member was the first to bust down a wrist accessory, but the timeline is rather hazy. Either way, once we’d reached the 90s, just about everything that could hold a stone did, including a $600,000 adorned plastic crown.
As the decade progressed and the industry cemented itself, so did the luxury market. Here we’d see the induction of creatives like Nigo, Pharrell and Kanye West, who would eternally revolutionize the limits of stone setting. From solid gold Blackberry’s (like I’m Richie Rich), to tomb raider pendants, the spending would only increase as Lil Wayne custom ordered $150,000 grillz.
Peaking in the 2010s, we’ve strayed from the gold chain’s root, in which impoverished rappers proved their validity after a record deal or smash hit. In turn, flooded Cubans and iced-out Rollies have become commonplace in the digital sphere.
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