I am interested in the correlation between gold accessories and rap and hip hop music. Almost every time I watch a rap music video, I see rappers wearing flashy and seemingly expensive gold. I have always wondered why this was the case. Rap culture, in general, is about flashiness. It’s not enough to “make it,” you have to show and tell everyone around you that you’ve made it. You have to show your fans that you are living the good life and can afford expensive jewelry. Because of this, many rappers today such as Trinidad James, Waka Flocka (he performed at Furman University last year), and Big Sean, have all been caught wearing fake gold. This may not seem like a big deal, but in the rap industry this is a major deal because it seems like the rapper can’t afford real gold. I am not surprised by this because we live in a materialistic and consumer society. Simply put, buying an expensive gold chain is a rite of passage in the rap industry.
Gold was first introduced to the Hip Hop Culture in the early 80’s by iconic group RUN DMC. After that, other Hip Hop artists such as Slick Rick, Rakim and Big Daddy Kane followed suit. Over the years it became the core of Hip Hop fashion and lyrics, which led to the stereotype that if you didn’t have any gold chains, it meant your rap career wasn’t doing well, which is not necessarily true. The origins of rap music primarily stem from the poor areas of the United States, where blacks began to rap verses and mix old music. Many of the black people in these areas tried to make money rapping instead of dealing drugs and stealing. To show how much wealth they possessed, rappers started wearing gold chains. Most people from these dilapidated areas were listeners of rap music and these rappers were role models to them, but they also had to see the rappers wear expensive gold accessories that they could not afford themselves. Rappers are selling a dream to their listeners, so it appears to be in their best interest to flaunt their wealth and success. For a rapper, it is really part of the costume, just as a country artist might wear boots or a cowboy hat.
Since its origin, rappers have used lyrics to promote their lavish lifestyle of buying bling bling and other expensive products. If I had a dollar for every time a rapper wrote lyrics about their gold jewelry, to be frank, I would be a billionaire. Let’s examine some of the times gold has been mentioned in the lyrics of rappers. In Trinidad James’ song titled “All Gold Everything” it talks about the rapper’s obsession with gold and how gold represents sheer flamboyance. His lyrics are vulgar, but if you want to read the full lyrics click here. The main chorus of his song goes, “Gold all in my chain, gold all in my ring. Gold all in my watch, Don’t believe me just watch.” When listeners hear music like this, they may want to emulate these rappers, as they are their idols. It may even lead some fans to buying gold chains. I can say that I wore a fake gold chain when I was kid, after listening to Soulja Boy. Besides lyrics, rappers are commonly seen gloating on social media that they just purchased expensive gold accessories.
If you look at the photo above, you can observe the diamond and gold piece purchased by my favorite rapper, Kodak Black, which costs an estimated $100,000. Posts like these are extremely common in the rap industry, and they let the world know just how much money these rappers and music producers have. Lastly, I want to conclude with this quote by rapper Big Sean that explains why he buys gold jewelry: “I really just appreciate good jewelry, clarity, gold. I think gold is made for kings and pharaohs—that’s what I am. That’s why I rock gold and, you know, stuff like that.”