Mentioned in “Same Way”, a track from Nines’s Crop Circle album, Chiefer saw a jump in attention after the collective began wearing his bussdown diamond pendants. “They are the best advertising,” says the Mayfair-based designer, whose work has been embraced by rappers such as Nines, Skrapz and their fellow Ice City Boyz. “Fashion is such a big part of hip-hop style, and a chain is like a superhero costume,” he says.įor British jeweller Chiefer Dcypha (aka Chiefer) celebrity shout-outs are essential. “A$AP’s mention of me in ‘Plain Jane’ changed my career,” says Ben Baller, the founder of Icee Fresh Jewels, who was namedropped in Ferg’s 2017 hit. To many jewellers, an artist’s endorsement can be very powerful. “I wanted to know everything about diamonds so that when I go to my jeweller, I can tell them exactly what I want.” “I used to sit in the jewellery store for hours asking about what I liked,” says Kash. More than consumers, they’ve become experts. Whether it’s Rihanna mixing Bulgari with London-based Nigerian jeweller Thelma West at the 2021 Met Gala or Beyoncé filling her 2020 Black is King film with the work of multiple creators of colour, stars are using their platforms wisely. The power of hip-hop’s women is undeniable.
“When you look at the scene now, the girls have just as many pieces and as much influence.” US chart-topper Kash Doll has an expansive collection and emphasises the contributions other female stars have made to hip-hop jewellery.
Who could doubt Lil Uzi Vert’s devotion to diamonds after he implanted an almost 11-carat pink rock in the centre of his forehead last year? Body modification is a surefire way to make headlines, but there are other ways to approach the topic. “Our jewellery is an integral part of the culture’s present and its history they’re visual, glamorous Ebonics in bauble form.”
“ was channelling the beautiful lineage of our heritage and ancestry in a fun and modern way,” says Slick Rick, the pioneering English American rapper and writer of the book’s introduction. The genre’s architects favoured flamboyant pieces – think Rakim’s layered gold rope chains or Salt-N-Pepa’s bamboo door-knocker earrings – and each piece served a purpose. So much is rooted in African design, and I wanted to ensure that was represented.” “It’s what we put on our bodies, so everything from the specific style of a link on a chain to the type of stones is communicative. “Jewellery is such a personal thing,” says Tobak. In another, A$AP Ferg talks about going from sketching jewellery designs while growing up in Harlem to being named a Tiffany & Co. LL Cool J recalls a 1988 trip to Côte d’Ivoire, where he met tribal chieftains in Abidjan and marvelled at the similarities between their adornments and his oversized nameplates. A means of asserting sartorial identity and status, and celebrating African culture from across the diaspora, hip-hop jewellery’s story is finally receiving the treatment it deserves in the expansive tome, which breaks down everything from Jay-Z’s diamond-encrusted Roc-A-Fella pendant to the collaborations of Takashi Murakami and Pharrell Williams. The jewels worn by hip-hop’s elite have bolstered rap’s journey from underground genre to cultural force. It’s taken decades for the mainstream to embrace the bold aesthetic of hip-hop jewellery and the shift it has caused within the wider industry – a subject fully explored in Taschen’s upcoming book Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History. The calling card of rap, R&B and grime stars, hip-hop jewels – and their makers – receive shout-outs in hit songs and go viral on social media, such as fans arguing over Kanye West’s Jesus pieces or Cardi B’s Audemars Piguet collection. The phrase, first popularised by hip-hop stars in the late 1990s, has gained global notoriety. The history of celebrity ornamentation can be split into two distinct eras: before and after bling.
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