http://www.popandpolitics...cleID=1713
Bling: Consequences and Repercussions
by Zoneil Maharaj

Nothing attracts the eye like the lure of a shiny diamond -- a thugged-out rapper’s best friend. You have to wear platinum and diamonds in the hip-hop world where, in order to prove status, you have to drive the nicest car on the biggest rims, drink the most expensive champagne, and wear the flashiest jewels.
In the 80s, rappers sported gold ropes and name plates a la Rakim and Run DMC. Since then, hip-hop has gone mainstream, with artists achieving multi-platinum record sales. To keep up with that success, artists have been upping the ante with diamond-studded watches from Jacob the Jeweler and grills, the tacky removable diamond teeth caps popular among southern rappers like Master P and Paul Wall.

In the introduction to the book, "Bling Bling: Hip-Hop’s Crown Jewels" by Minya Oh, rapper/actor Ludacris says that the main reason rappers buy diamonds is because diamonds don’t depreciate. As they say, “diamonds are forever” -- yet many don’t realize the real and hidden cost of these imported third world gems.

Conflict diamonds, which were brought to surface in Kanye West’s video, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” are diamonds originating from mines that are controlled by armed rebel forces, such as the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone. The smuggling of these diamonds into the world market funds these militant groups in their campaigns against legitimate governments, allowing them to continue torturing villagers in many countries throughout Africa.

In Sierra Leone, the conflict began in 1991 when the RUF attacked towns in the eastern and southern regions of the country and took over diamond mines, launching a civil war between the RUF and the National Provisional Ruling Council in 1992. It took ten years before the United Nations decided to intervene. All the while, the RUF were terrorizing, killing, and raping the locals who were forced to work the diamond mines. Their trademark: chopping off the limbs of men, women, children, and babies.

The bloodshed surrounding conflict diamonds and their final destination to Nelly's teeth are the subjects of filmmaker Kareem Edouard’s short-length documentary, "Bling: Consequences and Repercussions."

“I need people to see this film and understand what’s going on because when I’m walking down the street and I see the youth rocking these big fake rocks in their ears trying to mimic someone that they saw on TV, I want to show them some other footage,” Edouard says. “BET is not showing you what’s really going on. MTV, VH1, they’re not doing it.”

The documentary features voice-overs from author Greg Campbell who, in his book, "Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Path of the World’s Most Precious Stones," tells of when then-president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah asked his countrymen to “join hands for the future of Sierra Leone” in 1996. After hearing the speech, the RUF raided the villages and delivered bags of amputated hands to his presidential palace.

“To cut both of your hands off, now that’s really instilling a fear,” Edouard says. “It’s much more graphic than anything that Young Jeezy or anybody else can spit on wax because this is the true terror and this is what’s going on.”

According to Edouard, the number of conflict diamonds that enter the world market ranges from anywhere between two and 20 percent. “This number is still the entire world’s market so it’s a massive amount of diamonds that are coming from conflict regions,” Edouard says. “Two percent of a world’s market share makes it possible for Nas, [Young] Jeezy, Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, Diddy or anybody else that spends a ridiculous amount of money on diamonds to probably be having at least one carat or so that’s floating around their necks.”

It’s hard to point fingers in the conflict-diamond blame game because diamonds exchange so many hands from the moment they are harvested from the mines to the moment they’re put on display at retail stores. Edouard acknowledges that there is no way for you to truly be sure whether or not your bling is conflict-free. Dealers may boast that they are selling non-conflict diamonds, but they weren’t digging in the diamond mines themselves; they weren’t there when the diamonds were cleaned, bagged, tagged, and traded.

So why does Edouard feel that it’s necessary to link hip-hop culture and conflict diamonds? This question is best answered at the end of the film where a white teenager says, “Most rappers are black and they should be supporting those that are being hurt from the diamonds. They should know better than that.”

“In the hip hop community, the biggest thing is our roots,” Edouard says. “If we’re sitting here coming up through the hood talking about our hustle and our street grind and how we’re fighting off the oppressor, there’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t be conscious to the fact that what we’re wearing, the money we’re gaining from speaking about uprising and uplifting is quickly adding to the destruction, rape, murder, and mutilation of our people across the ocean.”

Today, much of hip-hop is all about the glitz. Even Kanye West, who seems to be the only mainstream artist privy to the conflict diamond situation, still wears expensive diamonds and has a line of jewelry with Jacob (Arabo) the Jeweler, a Russian immigrant whose line of jewelry is popular among hip-hop artists.

Whether the contradictory Mr. West truly cares about black people or not is up for debate. His video for “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” however, has made it easy for Edouard to promote the film and obtain funding for a full-length feature which he hopes to release either late 2006 or early 2007. Edouard also hopes that his movie can change people's attitudes and behavior towards buying diamonds.

"If Jay-Z decides to get Beyonce a synthetic diamond, it might be the rage and all of a sudden people might say to themselves, ‘Look people are dying, but if we still want the shiny and alluring quality of a diamond, let’s go in this route.’ It might work itself out,”

"Bling: Consequences and Repercussions" is free to view and download at www.wghfilms.com/bling.htm

Good stuff. I recall, back in the days of apartheid, people saying you shouldn't buy diamonds because a lot of them came from South Africa and that by buying them one was helping prop up that regime. So here we are again, in a sense. Personally, I'd like to see someone take this information and start getting in the faces of the bling set, wonder how they'd react, if they'd ever change their ways? This article makes it sound like Kanye doesn't see the hypocrisy.

CandaceS said:

i would too, but of course they'd probably be offeneded - "how dare u suggest i support that" blah blah blah, or they'd ignore it and take on the position that they trust THEIR diamonds are good diamonds. which would then be bull cuz u have no way of knowing. and as for kanye i think it does:


kanye's GOTTA see the hyprocrasy in that

Kanye has to versions of Diamonds on his release. One before he had knowledge of conflict diamonds and the remix after he became knowledgeable after recording the song.

Bravo to the film maker. It will be interesting to see the hip-hop communities response to this now that this is really being publicized and in the mass media(film). That community includes video directors, A&R, record companies, art directors.....

What a noble cause and purpose the man making the film is going for but this idea can be said for a lot of things people use today that aren't as expensive as diamonds, and I am probably guilty of this as well. I love my Air Jordan shoes and usually buy a pair every time they're shipped out. I know that some group has looked into Nike's shoe plants in China and other poor countries where workers may not be treated humanely or paid at all. The violence may not be as extreme but the idea that poor people are suffering for the material enjoyment of foreigners is nothing new, nor will it end soon.