Blings: The Hope to Achieve Most Hip Hop Members’ Goal If It Has Not Been Already Done

Saly

English 120

13 December 2007

Blings: The Hope to Achieve Most Hip Hop Members' Goal If It Has Not Been Already Done

On TV, on radio, or even in the street, people are nowadays faced to blings in everyday life. "Pling" or "Bling" describe the imaginary sound produced by a gleam or a starburst of a smile projected into eyes because of the cleanliness of teeth, when rays of light are reflected from the sun, like in many 1970s and 80s toothpaste and chewing gum advertisements (Wikipedia, "Bling-bling"). Likewise, "bling" also sounds like when a light reflects off a diamond (Bok).

"Bling" -as a term- has been first coined by the rapper B.G., member of Cash Money, who used it as the title of a track extract from his album “Chopper City in the Ghetto” in the 1990s. Then, the term quickly spread from the African-American Rap world to the Latin Hip Hop and reggaeton world and even to the whole world. Afterwards, it has been "added to the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary in 2002 and to the Merriam Webster dictionary in 2006" (Wikipedia, "Bling-bling").

Actually, "bling-bling" or, in simpler terms, "bling" is a mix of conspicuous wealth and pointless spending. It can relate either to a noun, "synonym for expensive, flashy jewellery sported by African-American Hip-Hop artists and middle class Caucasian adolescents and Chavs" or to a verb meaning "the act of sporting jewellery of an extravagant, gaudy nature" (Bok).

Thomas Alexis wrote about it by simulating a family reunion during which a rap track had been broadcast on the radio. The rapper hollered "blings". The parents decide to take advantage of the situation to raise the huge paradox blings hide by, firstly, asking to their sons what are blings:

With the belief that they were teaching us a lesson for a change, they confidently explained that "bling bling" referred to the jewellery that many rappers flaunt, especially large gold or platinum pendants, and diamonds rings. We asked them, "If you see a person who is bling blinging, does this mean they're wealthy?" They looked at us as if we had asked a stupid question, and then they winked at each other. "Of course," they answered. "How could they buy all that jewellery, the cars, and the fresh clothes they wear if they didn't have money?" But there’s a huge difference