A new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History has brought together 68 outstanding pieces of hip-hop jewelry that seem a world away from the dinosaur fossils, space matter, and other wondrous specimens that attract school groups and science buffs alike. Yet in a darkened gallery within the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, the humongous chains, diamond pendants, and gleaming grills shine forth with both artistic bravado and a kind of anthropological, cultural significance.
“Ice Cold: An Exploration of Hip-Hop Jewelry” is the first major show to celebrate and contextualize the custom bling that artists like Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Slick Rick, A$AP Rocky, Tyler The Creator, Pharrell, and Ghostface Killah have worn as part of their image-making. From the gold pendant version of the Adidas Superstars worn by Run-DMC to Drake’s “Crown Jewel of Toronto,” a diamond-encrusted CN-Tower dotted with the city’s sports mascots, this is an all-star lineup of rapper’s delights.
While the 50-year evolution of the genre is but a blink compared to the evolutionary timescales elsewhere in the museum, the curatorial team note how ancient civilizations adopted similar signifiers to flaunt wealth. The Etruscans, for instance, would wear gold dental bands like ur-grills. More recently, with the rising popularity of hip-hop, artists who enjoyed success couldn’t just write bars about their VVS diamonds and jewels, they needed to be seen wearing them.
For those of a certain generation, the show’s title will conjure Outkast’s “Hey Ya” (“Now, what’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!”). But ice, like rocks, can also mean expensive jewelry. Between the extravagant pavé settings, exaggerated size, and outrageous messaging, the pieces here transcend mere trinkets; they serve as status symbols that are at once ridiculous and awesome. Anyone who doubts their significance can refer to the gospel of Travis Scott: “Diamonds are the wife of life…”
“Jewelry was woven into the fabric of hip-hop culture from the start. And there are certainly things—transcending your circumstances, something to signal when you get success, wearing that success on your body—it becomes an assertion of who you are,” says guest curator Vikki Tobak, who oversaw the Taschen book of the same name. “On the one hand, it’s a really human trait; humans have been doing that throughout time. But when you add the history of hip-hop to the mix, it’s a whole different story. Hip-hop in fashion, and jewelry too, is rooted in customization and remixing—just like the music.”
The remixing extends to the show itself, which avoids a strict chronology in favor of themes that riff on song titles such as Money, Power Respect (hat tip to The Lox). The first case, Hey Young World, acts like an introduction and includes Slick Rick’s eye patch, yin-yang necklace, and diamond-studded crown (he also acted as a senior advisor); Pharrell’s Bape belt buckle by Jacob Co. and grill sets by Gaby Elan; A$AP Rocky’s articulated Lego pendant in diamonds and precious stones by Alex Moss; and a “Queensbridge” necklace loaned directly from Nas. One can only imagine these artists coming together on a track.
Code of the Streets focuses on nameplates and chains, spotlighting Biz Markie’s gold nameplate circa 1986 in a curling, engraved typeface as an early example. Spanning the entire back wall is You See Us, where customization and craft are dialed up in equal measure, be that in the form of Tyler, The Creator’s Bellhop pendant covered in 23,000 hand-set stones, Cardi B’s nipple covers that recall César’s breast sculptures (only to scale), or Erykah’s grills in an iridescent opal.
The selection is the modern equivalent of a national museum displaying its crown jewels; this is pop culture royalty, after all. The diadems and medallions of yesteryear replaced by Nicki’s Barbie pendant and T-Pain’s “Big Ass Chain” weighing roughly five pounds. No matter what era, the messaging of these baubles has never been subtle.
Tobak says that discovering all these pieces at a museum best known for its planetarium and model Blue Whale is not such a leap. “For some people, it’s so unexpected to have this at the Museum of Natural History. But when you think about the place that these artifacts and pieces have in pop culture and mainstream culture, it makes absolute sense to put them in the context of gems, minerals commodities throughout time,” she explains. “Hip-hop jewelry has influenced the luxury and mainstream markets, what we wear and how we wear it, so telling that story from the ’70s until now is really special.”
There were many loans that did not materialize—not owing to their value but rather to the artists’ attachment. Apparently, convincing Ghostface to part with his signature arm cuff adorned with a realistic gold eagle proved a huge win for this reason. “I let him know how prestigious this is and why it was so worth it for kids coming in; that’s what it’s all about,” said Lenny S., an industry veteran connected to Roc Nation, with many of the artists on speed dial.
One of the more interesting takeaways is how the artists often work with local jewelers rather than the established European houses, and that these relationships became mutually beneficial—the more ostentatious the piece, the more attention reflected back to its creator. From the pioneering Jacob Arabo (“Jacob the Jeweler”) to Ben Baller, Joe Avianne, Icebox, and the aforementioned Moss, their respective styles have carved out a cool realm defined by disruption and originality in the world of high jewelry.
April Walker of the long-standing label Walker Wear and a stylist to Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. back in the day is featured in the exhibition and noted how the curators were intentional about including female designers in a male-dominated industry. “I was on a lot of those stages, and I was the only one, so to see women included here is important,” she said at the press preview.
As for the fact that several of the pieces on display have now outlived their wearers, Walker drew a parallel back to the music. “The interesting part of each one of these is that they tell a story of a unique moment in time and what that self-expression was about,” she said. “That story will live on forever.”
