“Once you become history; once you become natural history, then you can’t be unwritten—so now we are definitely etched in stone,” Rap pioneer Roxanne Shanté tells Vogue at the opening of the new Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry at The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). On a breezy Wednesday night, hip-hop enthusiasts, museum patrons, creatives, and fans alike gathered on the Upper West Side at the museum’s Studio Gang-designed Richard Gilder Center to celebrate the influence of hip-hop on fashion and jewelry.
It was a night dedicated to the history, style, and sensory delights of hip-hop (down to the press kit, designed in the shape of a cassette tape). Guests were greeted in the airy, four-story atrium to the sound of rap classics, played by DJ Clark Kent. It was truly a fete of celebration, of community all coming together to celebrate the power of hip-hop. While partygoers danced along to Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu, VIPs like FERG (in a black Margiela suit adorned with jeweled brooches), Lil Baby, Fab 5 Freddy, Joey Bada$$, Rapsody, Bevy Smith, fashion historian Tanisha Ford, streetwear royalty April Walker, jeweler Johnny Nelson, and the man of the hour, Slick Rick (Rap royalty and Senior Advisor of the exhibition), mingled throughout.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry, builds upon that, highlighting the evolution of jewelry through the lens of the global cultural phenomenon. “This is a love letter to hip-hop, a love letter to New York, and all the ways that hip-hop and jewelry changed everything,” echoes Vikki Tobak, guest curator and author of Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History.
It’s not every day that you get to party in such a NYC landmark. From the bar centered in front of floor-to-ceiling collections of fossils, taxidermy, and zoological objects to an interactive butterfly exhibit, the night felt like a real-life interpretation of Night At The Museum (sans talking dinosaur skeletons). Even the exhibition, is nestled amongst gems and geodes, in the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.
Perhaps the highlight of the festivities was getting a special sneak peek at the exhibit (which opens to the public today). Guests moved from the atrium to the gem hall for a look at the glimmering display. There, they got an overview of hip-hop history through the scope of jewelry. Pieces from The Notorious B.I.G., Jam Master Jay (Run-D.M.C), Erykah Badu, Eve, Drake, Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Bad Bunny, Lil Nas X, and even Nicki Minaj’s famed Barbie necklace.
In a sea of Jordans, Wales Bonner x Adidas Sambas, Supreme, gold chains, and bling—the influence of hip-hop on fashion and jewelry was ever-present.
