It is called “truckjewelry”, or “heavy weight jewelry” in French. And Ice Cold, a history of hip-hop jewelry (Editions Taschen) is full of archival images of these ornaments worth their weight in gold. There’s the chunky braided chains of Beastie Boys and Run-DMC, the glittery spinning globe worn by Cam’ron, the massive Mercedes medallions seen on Eric B. and Rakim, the cascades of diamonds on “A$” on the neck of AP Rocky, Beyoncé’s Nefertiti-style gold headdress, Travis Scott’s, Trippie Redd’s and Rihanna’s toothy grills, Lil Yachty’s impressive collection of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet watches.
The book traces the evolution of this bling jewelry from its origins in New York in the 1980s, and tells how it became a mainstay of American rap culture as luxury goods from the streets. At first there were twisted gold chains, the famous “duke ropes”. we learn that one of the first rappers…
Source: Le Figaro
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