BA DA "BLING": Hip Hop's Crown Jewels Go Up For Auction

Above: Missy Elliot's diamond clad turntable ring will be auctioned.



Phillips de Pury & Company Presents “Hip Hop’s Crown Jewels”, the First Auction of Historic Hip Hop Jewelry, Pioneering a New Collecting Category. Includes Iconic Cultural Artifacts Worn by Some of the 20th Century’s Most Influential Musical Artists.



Above two images courtesy of Interview magazine

A historic selection of 70 jewelry pieces from some of Hip Hop's most illustrious musicians, rappers and jewelers will be offered, including those worn by:

50 Cent
Alicia Keys
Biggie Smalls aka Notorious B.I.G.
Birdman
Biz Markie
Busta Rhymes
Cam'ron
Damon Dash
P. Diddy
Eminem
Freekey Zekey
Gnarls Barkley
Ja Rule
Jay-Z
Jerome James
Lil Jon
LL Cool J
Mary J. Blige
MC Lyte
Missy Elliott
Nas
Pharrell Williams
Remy Ma
Rihanna
Slick Rick
Swizz Beatz
Tupac Shakur
VERBAL
Yaki Kadafi

A Portion of Proceeds to Benefit 3 Nonprofits within Russell Simmons’ Rush Community Affairs; Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, Diamond Empowerment, Hip Hop Summit Action Network,

Other specific proceeds include:
All lots worn by Eminem will benefit The Marshall Mathers Foundation.
50 Cent's Haimov Watch proceeds will benefit the G-Unity Foundation.
Proceeds from Tupac's Crown ring, Mob ring (shown here) and Diamond and sapphire necklace will go to the Tupac Shakur Amaru Foundation.

Highlights from the auction (some of which are shown below) include Slick Rick's diamond studded eye patch, Lil Jon's "Crunk Ain't Dead" diamond pendant and necklace, Tupac Shakur's Mob ring, his Crown ring and more, MC Lyte's Nefertiti Ring and Nefertiti Necklace, Missy Elliot's Diamond Turntable Ring, 50 Cent's Diamond Haimov watch and much, much more ice.









The auction will be held on Wednesday 1 October 7pm at 450 West 15th Street, New York, NY 10011 and viewing will be from the 22nd through the 30th of September, 10am - 6pm.

Enquiries: Alia Varsano, Worldwide Head of Contemporary Jewelry
avarsano@phillipsdepury.com +1 212 940 1293

Catalogues available at catalogues@phillipsdepury.com
London +44 20 7318 4039 New York +1 212 940 1240

To reserve tickets for the auction:
+1 212 940 1365
or email: hiphop@phillipsdepury.com

A Big Loss To the Creative Community: Nagi Noda and A Look at Her Work.

Above: Nagi Noda (1973-2008)

The creative world lost a great talent last week. Sadly, Nagi Noda, the Japanese artist/designer/art director, (and most recently fashion designer) as well as the creator of hanpanda, passed away on Sunday, September 7. She was only 35. Noda had experienced ongoing complications related to a bad car accident last year that resulted in chronic pain. The exact cause of death was not specified.


Above: Hanpanda

Sheila Stepanek, CEO/EP Partizan US, who represented Noda, says that Noda passed "in her Mark Ryden dress, Chanel boots, perfect make-up with Viktor & Rolf lace black eye lashes."

Noda was best known in the ad industry for her fantastic "Sentimental Journey" clip for Japanese pop star Yuki, which featured multiple "analog" clones of the singer and was featured in Saatchi's 2006 New Directors Showcase.



However, her recent fashion collaboration with artist Mark Ryden and her 'hair hats' are what I will always remember and if you never saw either of them, I'd like to share them with you here.




Shot by photographer Kenneth Cappello this past April (shown seated below on the far right), her hair hats are hair shaped into various animals.











Her foray into fashion with Mark Ryden gave us some fabulous clothes and some unforgettable branding:



Most recently she collaborated with ultra popular artist Mark Ryden to come out with a clothing label named Broken Label, sold at Colette in Paris. Below are some of the pieces from their line:






And some ads for the brand (note the meat on the floor on the ads - very Mark Ryden):






And here are some pics from her own online diary that break my heart:





Bio:


See more of her work here. And her music videos here.

May she forever rest in peace.