Ice Cold. a Hip-Hop Jewelry History
Whether it's diamond-encrusted grills, oversized "truck" style chains, bust-down Rolex and Patek Philippe watches or a Tiffany necklace, jewelry is a cornerstone of hip-hop culture. Glittering, blinged-out jewels are the shining statement of a collective identity: unapologetic, charismatic, and street savvy.
Spanning the history of hip-hop jewelry, from the 1980s to today, Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History is a stunning compilation of storytelling and visuals. Hundreds of extraordinary images of every major hip-hop artist on record celebrate how "Ice" has become a proclamation of identity and self-expression.
Starting with Run-DMC's gold Adidas pendants and Eric B. & Rakim's ostentatious dookie rope chains and Mercedes medallions, the jewelry then transforms from street style into a booming design culture. The hip-hop tradition of "show up and show out" reaches new heights with artists like Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Gucci Mane, and Cardi B, whose over-the-top pieces integrate unique pop culture references, unconventional materials, and enduring collaborations with artists like Takashi Murakami.
Author Vikki Tobak reveals - in great detail - the work of pioneering jewelers such as Tito Caicedo of Manny's, Eddie Plein, and Jacob the Jeweler as well as newer artisans such as Avianne & Co., Ben Baller/IF & Co., Greg Yuna, Johnny Dang, Eliantte, and many more.
Ice Cold is a treasure trove of dazzling, inspirational style, featuring the work of leading photographers, including Wolfgang Tillmans, Janette Beckman, Jamel Shabazz, Timothy White, Gillian Laub, David LaChapelle, Danny Clinch, Chris Buck, Mike Miller, Phil Knott, Raven B. Varona, Al Pereira, Albert Watson and many more.
A foreword by hip-hop superstar Slick Rick and essays by A$AP Ferg, LL COOL J, Kevin "Coach K' Lee and Pierre "P" Thomas of Quality Control Music take us on personal journeys into their jewelry universe.
Ice Cold goes beyond the ostentatious bling to reveal a transformative story that is loud and proud.
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
Vikki Tobak is a culture journalist, author, independent curator, and producer born in Soviet-era who was raised in the United States. In 2018, she authored the book "Contact High: A Visual History of Hip Hop" that features analog photography sessions of hip hop legends complemented by the photographers' personal stories about the images. She reports about and creates content regarding politics, arts, social justice and music photography.
"It's taken decades for the mainstream to embrace the bold aesthetic of hip-hop jewelry and the shift it has caused within the wider industry - a subject fully explored in TASCHEN's Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History."-- "VOGUE"
"Hip-hop has forever changed how we look at jewelry. Now, the genre's diamond-studded history is the subject of a new book."-- "VOGUE"
"[Ice Cold] traces the arc of hip-hop jewelry from the 1980s to today. Since its inception, hip-hop has shown the world how jewelry could become a living document, a testament to individual identity and the social order."-- "The New York Times"
"...a homage to all things glittering and gold... Ice Cold. A Hip-Hop Jewelry History document[s] that rich, illustrious relationship between style and music."-- "Vice.com"
"Decades of hip-hop decadence."-- "Rolling Stone"
"It's sort of like the ultimate visual encyclopedia for understanding how Hip-Hop has redefined the world of Jewelry over the past 40 years. That, at least, is what one might read on the band of a literally stunning photo album... In Ice Cold, Tobak sets the layman up against the truly museum-like work of pioneering jewelers."-- "Papel, El Mundo"
"Vikki Tobak's Ice Cold. A Hip-Hop Jewelry History is a lavish catalog of ostentation, documenting a decades-long affair between rap stars and the diamond-encrusted ornamentation that elevates them to around-the-way superheroes."-- "The New York Times"
"Packed with photos and essays about four decades of bling culture, with looks from artists ranging from OGs like Run DMC and the Notorious B.I.G. to contemporary figures like Cardi B and the Migos, the book is a celebration of personal style and its role in hip hop."-- "TIME"
"Jewelry has always been part of hip-hop culture and, as a result, has made celebrities of the jewelers themselves. Ice Cold offers a history of jewelry in hip-hop -- starting in the 1980s with Run DMC's Adidas pendants and working its way to recent years, when artists like Cardi B and Gucci Mane turned their ice into an art form. It also spotlights jewelers, offering an inside look at the work of industry vets like Jacob the Jeweler along with newcomers like Avianne & Co. and Ben Baller."-- "New York magazine"
"Over-the-top is an understatement when it comes to the bling images captured by top photographers of the past 40 years in this coffee-table stunner that documents how hip-hop transformed the jewelry industry."-- "The Globe and Mail"
"A photographic review of how hip hop helped redefine luxury with its over-the-top culture of bling."-- "Associated Press"
"Ice Cold illustrates the hip-hop arms race to procure and produce increasingly elaborate, individualized showpieces."-- "The Los Angeles Times"
"While serving as a compendium of opulence and excess, Ice Cold emphatically ties bling's symbolism to lived realities of social marginalization."-- "The Los Angeles Times"
"The biography of bling."-- "CNN.com"
"Hip-hop, jewelry and identity... Ice Cold explores the enduring relationship between two creative fields."-- "Wallpaper"
"Perhaps even more than clothes or shoes, bling has been a defining feature of hip-hop's look from its earliest days. [Ice Cold] is finally giving the relationship between rap and rocks the deep dive it deserves, with paeans from some of the industry's biggest jewelry-loving artists."-- "Robb Report"
"My jewels are my superhero suit."-- "Ricky Walters aka Slick Rick"
"Ice Cold explores the storied connection between jewelry and rap. Through an archive of amazing imagery and incredible tales, [the book] traces decades of how rappers crafted their personal flair through the art of bling."-- "BuzzFeed News"
