A Celebration of Hip-Hop Jewelry Is Coming to AMNH

New York—An exhibition exploring the history of hip-hop jewelry is coming to New York City’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Arriving on the heels of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, celebrated last year, “Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry” will feature dozens of jewelry pieces, tracing the history of the genre from the 1980s to today.  Opening May 9 in the museum’s Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, it will delve into hip-hop’s cultural influence through jewelry worn by some of its most iconic stars, beginning with the oversized gold chains embraced by rap’s pioneers in the 1980s. The exhibition will then explore the 1990s, when emcees-turned-business moguls were sporting diamond and platinum record label pendants, and the 2000s, when artists turned to multi-colored, avant-garde jewels incorporating high fashion, pop culture, and rap history references. The curation will highlight hip-hop jewelry as “enduring statements of individuality, empowerment, and resilience in the hip-hop community and global culture at large,” the museum said. Highlights of the exhibition include Slick Rick’s gem-encrusted crown (pictured at the top of the article); the Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary gold “Jesus piece;” a diamond-studded Roc-A-Fella Records medallion for the record label co-founded by...