DOMINIQUE’s blog

Please follow this link to see mt final multimedia project about grillz in Montreal. The website expires on Thursday April 16th, 2009.

www.djarryshore.squarespace.com

Dominique

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http://www.royaltyfreemusichouse.com

Music Courtesy of: Royalty Free Music

My levels are a little off so some of the sound is distorted. Also, I think I should have shortened what JR had to say. The piece drags on a bit but I’m happy with it overall. I really like the background music and I’m happy I got it so easily for free from Urban Dropz Music.

Grillz – A Look Back

Grillz as we know them today have been around since at least the early 1980’s, but gold and silver have been used to adorn teeth for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of what has morphed into modern day grillz comes from the Etruscan civilization, which existed from 9^th to 1^st century B.C. in the area that is now Italy. According to an article called “Pheonician Dentistry” published in the Museum of Archeology of the American University of Beirut, the Etruscans were industrious and “fond of luxury in all its manifestations” and used gold for crowns and bridgework.

There is also evidence of extensive dental decoration in Pre-Columbian Mexico (up until the arrival of Europeans in the late 15^th and early 16^th century). Teeth were replaced with precious metals and gems and even stained, notched and filed. Gold and silver teeth are still fairly common in this part of the world.

Teeth themselves have been known to represent strength and the afterlife, since they do not rot away like flesh.

Fast forward to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, when rap was emerging in the U.S. The idea of over-the-top accessories like glittery jewelery was popular in certain subcultures, such as the world of pimps who wanted to flaunt their success to attract women and respect. Just think of the sequin studded white jump suits of the 1970’s.

Websites about the history of grillz credit Eddie Plein with making the first modern day grill in the early 1980’s. Plein owned Eddie’s Gold Teeth in New York City and reportedly made popular rapper Flavor Flav’s grillz, which were a set of gold-tooth caps. Plein then moved to the southern U.S. where he set up shop in Atlanta and fitted many of the big names in rap with grillz.

Rap and hip-hop culture took off in the South around the year 2000 in what is largely considered the third wave of American hip-hop music (the first wave was from New York City and the East coast, the second wave was from the West coast). With the rise of Southern hip hop culture came a rise in the popularity of grillz in that region. In 2005 rap singer Nelly released the song “Grillz” which became a number one hit.

Nowadays, grillz continue to be popular in the Southern U.S. but are also worn as far North as Canada. Facebook groups for fans of grillz have members from as far away as Chile, Serbia and Australia. But people seem to be divided as to whether or not grillz are here to stay. Some people involved in hip-hop culture say that grillz are simply a trend whose 15 minutes of fame are over. But others say that grillz are more than a trend – that they represent a part of hip hop culture and are therefore timeless.

Grillz are flashy and epitomize the phenomenon of bling – displaying wealth and power through flashy jewellery and other accessories like clothing and cars. Hip-hop expert Murray Forman has suggested grillz are important because of the oral history and importance of rap, both of which originate in the mouth. Forman is also interested by the new stance that is popular in hip-hop culture as a result of grillz – namely the unnatural grimace that rappers make to show off their hardware.

The soundslide of Yolanda’s story was a powerful accompaniment to the written text. It was powerful to hear her voice and see images — but of course not all of the images, and maybe even very few of them were really of the people involved or of the actual places in the story. For example, they may have gone to Oaxaca to see her village but the way it was presented in the video was as if it was in real time, and they were there when the abuse was happening. It’s hard to know if the photos of the staircase going down was actually the place where she escaped from. So I guess for me, there are some unanswered questions when I see that soundslide. Did they travel to the actual trailer where she was living in North Carolina? And who are the other people that are in the photos, like the kids playing, or the girl looking out the window? Maybe those people wouldn’t want to be associated with this project because of the subject matter. So it’s a bit misleading for the viewer, but still very, very, powerful visually.

The running out of water multimedia project uses the countdown clock very effectively, and right off the bat that gives a real sense of urgency to the situation. The graphics that play while the video is running feels like a bit too much info at once, but the graphics in and of themselves are very well done and illustrative of the point they’re trying to make.

Primary Sources:

Murray Forman, PhD: Expert in hip hop culture and author or coauthor of a few books about hip hop culture, based in Boston at Northeastern University. Already interviewed (audio recording over the phone). Contact information obtained, confidential.

J.R.: Wears grillz, lives in Montreal, works at a local hip hop store, originally from Atlanta, Georgia. Already interviewed (audio recording plus photos). Information on where he works obtained, confidential.

Jonas: Wears grills, lives in Montreal, can talk to me about why he wears grillz, and hip hop culture in Montreal. Interview scheduled for February 11th. Plan to audio record and video, plus take still photos of him wearing his grillz. Contact information obtained, confidential.

Vico Lerebours: Lives in Montreal, makes grillz and sells them, can talk to me about process of making a grill (through he doesn’t want to divulge the secrets of his trade), may also put me in touch with people in Montreal who wear grillz. Interview not yet scheduled. Contact information obtained, confidential.

Spokesperson from the Quebec Order of Dentists: They’ve said no already because they say no one in Montreal wears grillz, but I think I’m going to push them to give me a comment on this since clearly there are people in Montreal who wear grillz. No interview scheduled yet. Telephone: 514 875-8511. Assistant to public relations: Nathalie Chasse, ext: 2252

Additional Primary Sources:

http://www.seemygrill.com/Quebec/Montreal/

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/grills.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grill_(jewelry)

Secondary Sources:
this article from the Ottawa Citizen

this article from the Boston Globe

this book by Murray Forman