Continuation of Hip Hop News on Grillz
Editor's Note: This is a response from a reader about an article I did on Grillz. He sent in some History on Grillz.
"During the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries gold teeth were issued to the oldest member of the family in African American communities. African Americans during that period in history rarely attained high levels of education or financial planning and investment training. Reading, writing, voting, and owning property were several luxuries in life not afforded African Americans at that time. If any wealth was accumulated, items were often times traded for gold and melted into teeth.
These gold teeth were then given to the elder of the family. They maintained the
wealth. Over time, gold teeth took on new meanings. In the sixties and seventies many African Americans would substitute gold caps for more expensive dental work(crowns or chips tooth replacements). Children were often given silver caps on their teeth when they had cavities, as a cheaper alternative for fillings.
Growing up in Atlanta, gold teeth represented a certain level of success on a street level. Growing up in a poor section of town, the most affluent members of the community were into illegal activities. This is where a lot of the hip hop trends have taken their cue from. I witnessed it first hand. For instance: A guy selling drugs could net anywhere from 2k to 30k a week, especially during the crack error. But at the end of the day, what can he do with his money? He is not employed, doesn't pay taxes, and can't provide proof of legal income to set up bank accounts and investment funds. So what does he do? He buys jewelry, and lots of it. He buys used cars for cash(old schools) and spends thousands of dollars hooking them up(rims, paint jobs, custom interiors, etc). He buys expensive clothes and frequents night clubs. Before 'ice' and platinum was big it was all about gold. I remember the older guys in my neighborhood bragging about how they had gold on every finger, around their neck and wrists. And if they really had it going on they even had gold teeth.
Now people say grillz. When I was a kid we used to say golds. Like, "Hey look at shawty with the open-face golds" There were basically 3 types of golds a cap and a pull-out. The pull-outs were either open-face or solid. The harder cats wore solid and the ladies men wore open-face golds.
I remember in the mid-90's when Wu-Tang came on the scene the golds became more creative. They had fangs and all kinds of stuff going on. They even started putting diamonds on their golds. Shortly after the rise of BAD BOY and the fall of Wu Tang. Gold teeth became taboo. People in Atlanta and the rest of the south still rocked them though.
Recently hip hop has sean a growing popularity and dominance by southern artists. This new trend has brought an old trend to the forefront. What we once called golds are now called GRILLZ."
-Robert Williams