By: Stephanie Woods-McKinney
Photo Courtesy: Stephanie Woods-McKinney
The American Museum of Natural History is currently Showcasing Hip Hop Jewelry, and the exhibit is headed by its recent President Mr. Sean M. Decatur. He was the first man of color to hold such a prestigious position at the museum and was co-curated by guest speaker, journalist Vikki Tobak.
Decatur has a lengthy passion for “inclusion and diversity” as he also heads several committees, including Inclusive Learning Group Advisory Committee at Howard Hughes Medical Institute where he is chairman and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) where he is the director.
According to Decatur, "now is the perfect time to bring this exhibit to the museum and show the world that The American Museum of Natural History is a museum for all people."
The Hip Hop exhibit showcases many hip hop pioneer's accessories : Jay Z's Limited Edition Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore platinum watch; Jay Z’s Rocafella pendant necklace; Loita Shante Gooden aka 'Roxanne Shante's' of pioneering rap group The Juice Crew necklace is (was gifted to Roxanne at 15-years-old by Disco Fever Founder Sal Abbatiello); Slick Rick's diamond crown and diamond eye patch; diamond necklace of The Notorious B.I.G; Biz Markie's diamond medallion and Kay Slay's gold necklace Additionally, wer icons such as Harlem's A$AP Rocky's diamond and gold teeth retainers and Nicki Minaj 'Barbie' diamond encrusted pendant.
Guest speaker Roxanne Shante' one of the original queens of Hip Hop discussed the reasoning behind the styling and profiling of “diamonds” and “gold”.
According to Roxanne, during the early stages of the culture and noting the evolution of money-making for the culture, it was popular to showcase your jewelry. The more jewelry and bigger the jewelry, more successful you were. And displaying your jewelry was a way to show you strength, noting you had bodyguards, and you were not afraid of getting “vicked”-(robbed). So, wearing gold and then diamonds, showed the community that you had “juice”!
The Ice Cold Press Conference was followed by an invitation-only red-carpet event which did not disappoint hip hop royalty.
DJ Clark Kent was the event DJ and the carpet was graced by pioneers like 'Slick Rick'-who is also an advisor for the exhibition, Pete Rock, Stretch Armstrong, Harlem rapper ASAP Ferg, Lenny S of Roc Nation and many others.
Copy Editor: Breanna Robinson
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