The use of bling in hip hop culture troubles social structures of inequality even as it gives them power. The term and the style have been around for a while. Common knowledge (the internet, urban dictionary) says Lil’ Wayne invented it, and he claims he did, first mentioning it in his 1998 song "Millionaire Dream." But it was probably floating around even before that, with comedians like Martin Lawrence using it in sketches in the ‘80s, at least according to Wikipedia.
So what’s up with bling? In some ways it seems to be an oppositional representation of Black masculinity like, “What? You think all Black people are poor, well look how much money I just poured around my neck, or on my fingers, or over my teeth.” But by adopting clear signs of wealth, in some ways wearers of bling are reifying class power. They are showing that being rich matters. They are showing that representing wealth matters.
Then again they aren’t wearing nicely tailored suits, fancy cufflinks, or designer ties. They are wearing gaudy, in your face, totally out of mainstream style larger-than-life jewelry that in some ways echoes Africa even as it drips in blood diamonds. (Some rappers have made explicit ties between bling and violence in Africa in documentary films.)
So one of the common sense ideas about bling is that it shows the stupidity of rappers, wasting their money on useless commodities. Which, I mean, I kind of agree with. But I also think that spending thousands of dollars on a suit or an engagement ring is just as gross, we just don’t notice it because it is sneakier and more discreet.
So I’m not quite sure that bling is the best counter-strategy to representations of Black poverty, but it’s certainly working on dominant notions in an in-your-face kinda way.
And how’s bling evolved? Well, the most popular definition for bling bling on urban dictionary says:
n. synonym for expensive, often flashy jewelry sported mostly by African American hip-hop artists and middle class Caucasian adolescents.
Like so much of hip hop culture, you know it’s both made it to mainstream and died when the middle class suburban folk are co-opting it. Mitt Romey even used the term on the campaign trail, which for some reason makes me feel ick. President Sarkozy is derisively called President Bling Bling in the media.
So, like most of the representations in hip hop, it’s complicated. Bling honors conspicuous consumption. It fucks with understandings of how to rep wealth. It challenges notions of class/race lines. And, like so much of hip hop, bad or good, it does so unapologetically.
