Bling

From A.man.I

I recently had the pleasure to cover the B.E.T. Hip-Hop Awards, which gave the opportunity to talk to some big names in the Hip-Hop game. From platinum grills, to chains that hang low, and wrist pieces, there was plenty of "bling" goin' round on the red carpet.

If BET was handing out an award for "Blinginest" rapper, there would have been several nominees, though one artist would have definitely been the winner: Busta Rhymes (see video). I just received an e-mail via Myspace that got me thinking about my conversations with the artists.

Billiam writes:

Its really f***** up whats going on over there in the Congo Region of Africa with the diamond trade.......thousands of people die everyday for this demand that debeers creates for diamonds by controlling the worlds supply and telling the world that diamonds are extremely rare, when in fact they are not as rare as you would think.

Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons landed in South Africa today (Nov. 27) on a fact-finding mission to learn how the diamond industry can positively affect the lives of black Africans living amongst high poverty, HIV and lack of quality education. Simmons will visit Botswana and South Africa during the fact-finding mission to learn more about the diamond trade.

It's something every diamond lover should think about. Slim Thug, Swizz Beats, and BG were among the rap artists I talked to, and each had their own take on bling. By the way, Black Family Channel (my employer) is about to air a special about the images in Hip-Hop, and what artists are doing to give back. It should air in December.

Here's what some of the artists had to say: