From politics and meals to the expression of wealth, hip hop music has shaken up the best way America sees itself. For the reason that 80’s, the style has outlined the zeitgeist of cool to impressionable younger gens the world over. From the start, the essence of excessive style in hip hop tradition was expressed within the type of huge gold chains and shimmering diamond pendants—and has advanced into an explosion of blinged out rings, bracelets, grillz, and chains to change into the usual bearer of success within the rap sport.
Ice Chilly, an enlightening docu-series from govt producers Migos, Kevin “Coach Ok.” Lee and Pierre “P” Thomas, makes use of the prism of hip hop and jewellery to discover deeper points round racial inequity and the American dream.
The collection delivers deep insights from legendary MC’s, equivalent to Slick Rick, Lil Yachty, A$AP Ferg, Lil Child and Metropolis Ladies, amongst others, in regards to the deserves of flexing bling; whereas additionally showcasing contrasting viewpoints from De La Soul, Talib Kweli and others who performed a vital a part of the Black consciousness motion within the rap sport who refused to put on gold chains. It additionally encompasses a carousel of jewellery characters who masterfully drip and preserve the bling of the rap cartel.
The hip hop docu-series is masterfully shot and framed, each visually and culturally. It’s a pictorial Rosetta Stone of types in regards to the secretive world of hip hop jewelers and the flamboyant tradition that created the demand, and explores the ideologies that gave beginning to the ostentatious jewellery we see right this moment. Past the bling, the viewer is requested to ponder the double requirements which have plagued concepts about Black self-expression, innovation and monetary accountability.
Exhibited as a group of 4 brief episodes, Ice Chilly explores hip-hop’s capability to reimagine and transcend established notions of wealth, standing, superiority and the sheer resilience of hip-hop tradition. Under, EBONY checks in with the documentary’s director Karam Gill and the famed movie star jeweler (and one the movie’s producer) Ben Baller, who’s featured within the collection, to dish about rap’s fascination with jewellery and the tradition that drives the sport.
EBONY: Are you able to inform us how Ice Chilly got here to be made?
Karam Gill: It was a 4 yr course of truly to make this. It went by so many various variations. We had been it as a characteristic movie at one level, and it type of went down the highway and in the end turned a collection. The hip hop and jewellery story is so complicated as a result of there’s a lot nuance to telling that story. There’s a lot accountability, proper? From a thematic standpoint, you’ll be able to’t inform the story of hip hop and jewellery with out telling the story of the American dream and racial notion. We have now to speak a few lot of those bigger themes and concepts that exist in our tradition.
So we realized that it didn’t work as a characteristic. It wanted to be a collection, as a result of there’s so many subjects. The jewelers are craftsmen; they’re their very own topic. Lots needed to be separated to permit the challenge to be what it wanted to be for our tradition and society.
Ben, discuss to me about what it means to you that this movie is out proper now.
Ben Baller: Ice Chilly is so a few years within the making, you understand, shout out to Peter and Sacha over at Mass Enchantment. I used to be like, man, I’m with the best individuals!
I knew the brand new college. It wasn’t nothing getting Lil’ Child. Attending to the jewellery individuals who suppose they’re on the identical degree of competitors as me—I’m not frightened about that. And the humorous factor is, individuals who don’t like me, or who suppose I hate them, they’re going to be on this film. They get to inform their aspect of the story, to say that their greatest jeweler, or no matter it could be. I believe later once they discover out, they’re goiog to be like, “Wait, Ben produced this film? Why would he have me in it? As a result of look, dog- I’m not about that f*** s***. You gotta hear each aspect.”
We are able to’t simply take a look at hip hop. We have now to take a look at the entire historical past of jewellery. If we will’t return to the Egyptian days of King Tut, Slick Rick and all of the stuff that issues in popular culture or Black tradition then I didn’t wish to be part of it.
“The Queen’s jewels in Buckingham Palace aren’t any extra flamboyant than a few of the ones worn by the larger stars within the rap world.”
KARAM GILL
Karam, inform us, particularly, how did you and Ben get related initially? And, then what was the method of creating the film?
KG: A few of the producers, they’d introduced again Ben into the combo on the sooner aspect of after we had been engaged on the challenge. I believe Ben’s a extremely nice dude and any individual who has a lot data about jewellery. He’s actually a craftsman in his personal proper. He was in a position to present simply lots of insights, and breakdown easy issues [for the film]. Having a financial institution of information of somebody like Ben, who spans so many generations as nicely is a high jeweler, was nice when it comes to simply sustaining accuracy and authenticity. He was ensuring we’re exploring the best issues and telling it the best means.
What was probably the most enjoyable a part of making this movie for you?
KG: Once I acquired to create the museum from scratch and actually type of take all these legendary artists and paint them as these Renaissance figures like kings and queens. We constructed that area from scratch—it was designed by my manufacturing designer, myself and we actually designed it in a means that we wished to. We wished that past it being a cool stylistic thing- you wished to make a press release. For thus lengthy, we’d go to museums and take a look at white European monarchs that conquered Black and Brown nations painted on the wall. You’re made to lookup at them and glorify them. So the idea past it being a cool stylistic factor was actually to make a press release like, “Yo, hip hop must be glorified and checked out in the identical means.” As a result of the Queen’s jewels in Buckingham Palace aren’t any extra flamboyant a few of the ones worn by the larger stars within the rap world.
In the end did you discover these artists to be materialistic? Who did you discover them to be of their pursuit of high-end jewellery?
KG: I believe that’s an awesome query. I believe that in the end everyone, each human being from the start of time when it comes to societies, have beloved adoring themselves. You’ll be able to take a look at Egyptian or you’ll be able to take a look at the kings and queens of Europe. The idea of decoration and materialistic celebration shouldn’t be a brand new thought.
And, it actually pulls again the layers on how our American society has these double requirements in relation to the American dream. It’s unlucky. America will rejoice Elizabeth Taylor and Liberace, who had been a lot extra flamboyant. However as quickly as you see a hip hop artist like LL Cool J within the 80’s on a stage with no shirt and massive chain, you see how our society has these double requirements. A$AP Ferg actually touches on that time within the movie. It’s like some individuals are allowed to specific themselves in the best way they need for the American dream and others aren’t. When any individual buys one million greenback chain or spends one million {dollars} a yr at a rustic membership within the South, they’re extravagant celebrations of wealth. However who’s to say which one is correct? There is no such thing as a proper solution to rejoice the American dream. Nonetheless any individual desires to do this, they need to be capable to try this.
Do you cowl any of that controversy and the views that cope with blood diamonds and a few of the extra severe, social, and political happenings that make this jewellery exist?
KG: Ice Chilly talks fairly a bit in regards to the counterculture perspective with A Tribe Known as Quest, De La Soul, Public Enemy, and type of how that period was actually anti jewellery. It was for quite a lot of issues. Everybody had their very own reasoning behind it. Some was materialism; some had been bigger social points.
The movie from a crucial standpoint actually critiques our American capitalist pushed society greater than it does the nuances of the jewellery sport. Our society has created this want to challenge wealth due to how hyper capitalist America is, proper? And I believe these are the bigger themes that we’re making an attempt to unpack.
BB: The loopy factor is we’ve come a really great distance within the final 10 years. I bear in mind making Nas an enormous chain for his album. And his album was named, you understand, the N-word with the ER. And he’s like, you understand, that is the God MC.
He was going to the Hollywood premiere of the movie Blood Diamond. Leonardo DiCaprio goes to the Hollywood premiere. And I used to be [asking Nas], “Bro, you’re not gonna put on that chain there, proper?” And he goes, “Hell no, man! They might crucify me.”
Most of my diamonds come from India. I attempted to supply issues from Israel. However as I acquired to know the commerce extra, the diamonds, don’t have any genetic DNA. So that you don’t know the place they arrive from, proper? And it’s a tricky scenario. And also you simply attempt to do as greatest as you’ll be able to to supply them at a great place. However one factor that I do know from the analysis that I’ve taken is that the battle diamond scenario has modified tremendously. I’m acutely aware about it. It’s a bizarre sport [the jewelry industry].
Nonetheless, totally different from the East and the West, might have been, the South gave rise to a complete new wave of hip hop style and jewellery stuff that you simply didn’t have earlier than. Can we see any of that in Ice Chilly?
KG: Yeah. I believe Southern hip hop is so unapologetically inventive in the best way that, whether or not it’s placing ad-libs on a tune which might be there for a easy injection of taste or it’s auto-tuning and tweaking. All these items that we see in our tradition, lots of the stuff that’s so current in right this moment’s hip hop tradition, musically and expression-wise, is pushed by the emergence of Southern hip hop tradition. I believe jewellery is simply one other model of that. I believe a few of the most inventive items, a few of the most extravagant and expressive and daring items are popping out of Southern hip hop. The identical means that a few of the most inventive and expressive and daring cadences and flows and injections of ad-libs, and all these items that you simply’re seeing within the tradition come from Southern hip hop. It’s a testomony to when a area shouldn’t be the first area of… When Southern hip hop was not the first area for therefore lengthy once they did come on the scene, I believe they made a inventive assertion. And never simply musically, proper? They kicked in doorways on the musical degree, on the factual, and the visible degree. Have a look at guys like Younger Thug, Lil Child, Migos, and all these artists, there’s an actual expression there.
BB: Once you take a look at that period with Paul Wall and movie star jeweler Johnny Dang, I consider Mike Jones and I take into consideration the ostentatious humongous chains him and Yung Joc and Slim Thug had and issues like that. It was an unimaginable time.
Ben, It feels such as you broke floor within the area in jewellery in hip hop enterprise by advantage of simply being one of many first. However greater than that you simply had been current to the potential and took motion. Are you able to discuss that?
BB: I’ve stated this earlier than. I stated that if I stayed in my lane all my life, I’d be broke proper now. If I solely spoke when individuals requested me one thing, then I’d be broke. I needed to be informed [by others] “Why don’t you shut up?” I’m not asking anyone for permission [to live out my goals]. I don’t care who you’re. I don’t care if you’re Joe Biden or Donald Trump. I’m simply going to talk after I wish to converse. You realize what I imply? It’s simply one thing that simply must be accomplished. And I believe, I want to talk for all of the individuals who can’t.
In the event you might recommend to an individual who actually didn’t like hip hop why they need to watch Ice Chilly, what would you inform them?
KG: Past something, I believe individuals ought to watch this as a result of it’s a jewellery collection that’s not nearly jewellery. I believe if you take a luxurious and hyper materialistic entry level like jewellery, it lets you actually discover all features of society. It’s such a coveted, revered, and tangible merchandise. You’re going to get individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds which have one thing to say about it.
I believe we’re in a time proper now the place it’s necessary that these critiques exist. This can be a critique on the socioeconomic realities of being in America, and actually what the American dream means to so many various kinds of individuals. The identical means that there may be some white dudes in Alabama who’ve a multi-generational wine assortment that spans 70, 80, 90 years—that’s their celebration of generational wealth. The American dream is similar means that somebody who simply made their first million desires to commemorate that with a trophy jewellery piece. There’s nothing improper with both. That’s the premise of what this collection is basically about.
Catch the Ice Chilly docu-series on MIGOS YouTube channel.
Adisa Banjoko is an writer, curator and journalist based mostly between The Bay Space and London, UK. He additionally hosts the @BishopChronicles podcast.
