Bling-bling

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Bling-bling jewelry
Bling-bling jewelry
"Bling" redirects here. For the Marvel Comics character, see Bling (comics).

"Bling-bling" (usually shortened to simply "bling") is a hip hop slang term which refers to expensive jewelry and other accoutrements, and also to a lifestyle built around excess spending and ostentation. In its essence, the term refers to the exterior manifestation of one's interior state of character, normally displayed through various forms of visual stimuli.

Contents

[edit] Origins

The word "bling" was coined by the rap family Cash Money Millionaires in the late 1990's.[1] It was used on a song title by Cash Money artist Baby Gangsta and used in 1998 by fellow Cash Money Records artist Lil Wayne on the track "Millionaire Dream"- "I got ten around my neck, and baguettes on my wrist, Bling!"- from the Big Tymers album 'How Ya Luv That'. "Bling Bling," released in 1999 on B.G.'s album 'Chopper City in the Ghetto' led later in the 2000's to the term proliferating through mainstream hip hop and eventually spilling over into popular culture as a sarcastic term used to mock the vacuousness of hip hop culture. Comedians such as Ali G in the UK, exploited this for humour.

In 2005, the rapper B.G. remarked that he 'just wished that he'd trademarked it'[2] so that he would have profited from its extensive use. In interviews, he has stated that the term refers to the imaginary sound that light makes when it hits a diamond.

The culture of display of wealth was ingrained in street culture long before the 90's, however: it is thought that wearing expensive jewelry was the one way in which young and previously impoverished men, who had acquired riches through crime, could be sure of holding on to their wealth by wearing it for all to see. This marks out the wearer of such jewelry as a person with ghetto roots, as it shows that the source of their wealth or their personal prejudices prevent them from investing in more stable assets such as cash in the bank or property like a house or car. Hence 'bling bling', while widely regarded as a slang phrase, has been seen by some as manifestation of a deeper socioeconomic problem in the United States of America, trivialised by mainstream media and hip hop.

[edit] Criticism

Mainstream hip hop music's fixation on bling bling and other material and luxury goods has led to much criticism from media pundits and musical critics.

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[edit] Later use of the term

MTV released a satirical cartoon commercial in 2004 showing the term being used by a rapper, then several other progressively less "streetwise" characters, then finally by a middle aged white woman who uses the term to describe her earrings to her elderly mother. It ends with the statement, "RIP Bling-bling 1997-2004".

In Latin Hip-hop (and Reggaeton from both Puerto Rico and Panama), rappers also use the term, but it is usually written/pronounced as "blin-blin". Also, "blinblineo" means bling-bling style or bling-bling, or blingin life-style.

Several Cadillac Escalade billboards and magazine advertisements used the phrase "Bling Bling" to promote the expensive vehicle.

The Shorter English Dictionary added "Bling-bling" as a new entry in its fifth edition (2002).

The wine cooler MD 20/20, also known as "Mad Dog," has marketed a flavor called 'Bling Bling Blue Raspberry' in an attempt to attract a more youthful and affluent demographic.

Beginning in 2005, Sprint advertised ringtones for its cellular phones under the name "Blingtones."

One of the crackheads in the "Bumfights" series of videos is called Bling Bling.

Merriam-Webster officially added term to its dictionary (July 2006).

[edit] Related meaning

In the Middle East, counterfeit brand-name goods (such as Rolex watches) may be known as bling bling specials.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ How bling became king, Jonathan Duffy, BBC News, October 15, 2003.
  2. ^ "How bling-bling took over the ring", Guardian, 2005-01-09. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
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