Kanye West has provided a good bit of material here at the BofG, and today he provides a nice addendum to this morning's painfully hip video on King Solomon Bling. From today's Page Six:

IF you use the word "bling" these days, you're unhip and totally out of style, according to Kanye West. The hip-hop star tells Complex magazine: "Only white people and older black people say 'bling' now. If a white person uses slang too early, then that makes them look like a wigger. But if black people use slang too late, then it makes them look like a wigger." Thanks for straightening us out!

Word.

Posted by jat at 12:31 PM | Permalink

UPDATE: Mystery solved. For an explanation of the symbol (and a stencil for copying), click here.

Miami Ink is a popular tv show about tattoos, and it has not been shy about displaying religious imagery.  The video below is of a Texas pastor--Pastor Cleetus--getting a Jesus tattoo.  Another popular tattoo has been what is purported to be an Egyptian symbol for "Only God Can Judge Me." 

Don't know about the Egyptian symbol part--unlike the "G" in B of G I'm not omniscient (yet!) and I don't have the time to go beyond the research I've already done.  However, I do know why "Only God Can Judge Me" has emerged as a particularly popular tattoo trope.  The contemporary source of this meme was Tupac Shakur, who had "Only God Can Judge Me" tattooed next to a cross on his chest & performed a signature rap by the same title.  This stanza is particularly haunting when you consider how he ultimately died:

I hear the doctor standing over me
screaming I can make it
Got a body full of bullet holes
Laying here naked
Still I can't breathe
something evil's in my I-V
Cuz everytime I breathe
I think they're killing me
I'm having nightmares
Homicidal fantansies
I wake up stranglin'
Danglin'
from my bed sheets
I call the nurse
cuz it hurts
To reminisce
How could it come to this ?
I wish they dind't miss
somebody help me
Tell me where to go from here ?

Posted by jat at 07:43 PM | Permalink

The buzz is building in NYC for the September 8 opening of Black Style Now, an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York.  A major focal point: hip hop, "America's most important cultural export."

Bling will be the subject of a special lecture on October 25, but folks who cannot make it need not despair.  The exhibit also has a tie-in volume on the subject.  Watch for Bling:  The Hip-Hop Jewelry Book, by Gabriel Tolliver and Reggie Ossa.  

Posted by jat at 11:25 PM | Permalink

Desi rap artist the1shanti describes his work here, and there are more samples from Spiritual Bling on his myspace page:

“I stand at the crossroads between P. Diddy and Deepak Chopra,” the1shanti said during the Q&A portion of the event. “I make music everyone can vibe to.”

Posted by jat at 11:06 PM | Permalink

From Mr. T to Saudi shopping, this week has once again highlighted the tension between truly spiritual adornment and reductionistic materialism.  Below:  a somewhat more . . . abstract meditation on related themes.  

"Artificial Gods--Argo 8" is a video produced by a young Puerto Rican visual artist, and its subjects:  the appropriation of rap culture by white consumers and the emergence of "commercial Hip Hop that rocks only bling, cash, and hoes, with no real content."  It's avant garde & designed to shock, Daft Punk Gundam meets Spike Lee.  On YouTube one of the artist's bewildered fans comments, "It's pretty Yoko dude," but for some folks, that's a compliment.  

The plot in a nutshell:  "Hip Hop Raiden who took the Godly mantle of Hip Hop has been revived. Built as a machine to brainwash the masses with commercial Hip Hop, thus making it consumer friendly. Jesus White the reformed villain of this world, has taken it upon himself to kill Raiden, in a John Wayne like fashion."

Posted by jat at 10:45 AM | Permalink

Religious blingmaster to the stars, Jacob the Jeweler, has just been arrested on charges of money laundering for a narcotics ring.

Posted by jat at 01:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mary J. Blige in Blender, from today's Page Six: 

"My God is a God who wants me to have things. He wants me to bling. He wants me to be the hottest thing on the block"

Posted by jat at 09:44 AM | Permalink

And lest we think religious rap is an exclusively Christian (and silly) domain, here is a more serious "Bahai -style" rap that's been getting some attention on Youtube.com.

Posted by jat at 02:25 AM | Permalink

Rap and religion are mainstays here at the Blingdom of God, but our last video uniting the two left a lot to be desired.  Fortunately, the ever-enlightening Angela Gunn has sent a link that shows a more excellent way.

For more on the maker of this viral video, check out his website at whitedj.com.

Thanks Angela!

Posted by jat at 01:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The following sequence from Scary Movie 4 answers an important question here at the B of G: 

Who would win in a fight, the Blingdom of God or an alien death ray?

Posted by jat at 04:58 PM | Permalink

Words fail me.  Just watch this latest video from You Tube . . .

Rapping Pastor with Bling

Posted by jat at 01:05 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Posted by jat at 05:47 PM | Permalink

Hip Hop is the postmodern spiritual, an authentically American blend of rhyme, rhythm and redemption.  Thus it is only fitting that the Smithsonian is collecting turntables, boomboxes and other hip hop "artifacts" for a permanent exhibit. 

While some may be wondering what this means for hip hop's future, here at the B of G we just want to make sure that that the Smithsonian does not forget its spiritual bling!

But what to include?  Hip hop is full of religious riches, from its narratives of personal deliverance to its many symbols of personal faith.  To help the Smithsonian in its sacred quest, here is a list of a seven things to look for when collecting hip hop's holy relics.

7.  Sacred Scriptures, Living Prophets & Moral Commandments

6.  A message of love for humanity

5.  Relics from revered martyrs

4.  How Beautiful Are the Feet . . .

3.  Symbols of the Protestant Work Ethic

2.  Sacred Time

1.   And, of course, the diamond Jesus Head!    

EXTRA:  Want to see more spiritual bling from throughout hip hop history?  Check out the source for several of the pictures linked above: Minya Oh's Bling Bling:  Hip Hop's Crown Jewels.  

Posted by jat at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)