Mary J. Blige and Simone I. Smith are releasing something for the “Around The Way Girl.” The business duo has revealed a capsule collection from their Sister Love jewelry brand in celebration of Hip-Hop 50. Set to release on Aug. 11, recognized as National Hip-Hop Day, the drop features an assortment of jewelry every fly girl can appreciate. Paying homage to both women’s upbringing in New York City in the 1980s, the line is described as a nod to classic rope and bamboo door knockers but modernized with an added nameplate.
“Hip-hop is so important to me because it gave me my identity growing up in the inner city and the projects. It was and still is a powerful way for us to express ourselves and understand other artists and rappers who MC through their experience. Years ago, people thought this genre would be extinct, but 50 years later it is still here and just as big as rock and roll,” explained the My Life singer in a statement.
Sister Love
She continued, “We decided on these earring styles for Hip-Hop 50 because these are the earrings that were the most popular, specifically the triangle hoops (what we call Tri-Bams), and the ones that every girl from the projects and female rappers wore! Hip-Hop culture always influences the designs for Sister Love. These are the earrings we wore growing up and are still wearing today.”
Sister Love was established and inspired by their friendship and shared love of statement pieces. The brand is rooted in the ladies’ support for each other, and the importance of women supporting women.
Although the brand empowers women, Sister Love also sells jewelry for men. The designer shared an upcoming project inspired by her husband LL COOL J.
“My husband has the Rock the Bells Festival in August, and so I designed a whole collection of pendants for it,” Smith shared with VIBE earlier this year.
The collection is set to give “kind of a bodega vibe,” providing consumers with the opportunity to purchase stylish, “affordable bling.” Everybody can’t go out and buy a $100,000 necklace, but you could get it for $600 on simoneismith.com and have that same look and be fly,” she said.
All Sister Love jewelry including the Hip-Hop 50 collection can be purchased on the brand’s official website. Take a look at images from the campaign below.
