Ever since Biggie rapped about his Cuban link chain and Jesus Piece pendant, the ‘Jesus Piece’ has become the most popular pendant in hip-hop history. Truth be told though, some of the credit could go to Prodigy of Mobb Deep, as P was the first rapper to wear a 30 inch chain, modelling his jewelry game off Slick Rick’s.
Over time, the Jesus Piece became a stamp of approval in hip hop culture: you get few dollars, upgrade the wardrobe and the whip, and up next is the Jesus Piece or the chain.
But what happens if you aren’t Christian, or you just want a little something different? Simple.
You could work outside of the average “yellow, gold and diamonds Jesus Piece” box and completely re-work how the average Jesus pendant looks. Or you could get a different pendant that looks like a Jesus Piece from a distance. Some creative individuals have stepped outside of the box and kept the general “look” and shape of the Jesus Piece and completely flipped it with pendants made to resemble some of history and entertainment’s other great figures: Michael Jackson or Jimi Hendrix for example.
We don’t think rappers or anyone with a love of the jewelry are intentionally trying to fool us, but the shape of some pendants trick the mind of the observer into thinking the pendant is an image of someone’s Lord and Savior, which could be a good thing considering that illusion makes up the bulk of hip-hop.
No disrespect to Jesus, but some of these pieces are pretty fly and provide a great second option to getting the a typical piece.
Here’s a few other options that even Jesus would probably love. If Jesus sanctioned bling, that is.
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Ambush “Pharaoh” Piece from their Summer 2009 collection.
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Crooks & Castles Logo piece made by GoodWood NYC.
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Nigo, of A Bathing Ape, showing off his Ape Head piece on the cover of his (B)APE Sounds LP.
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Virgil Abloh’s (from Kanye’s Camp) “Mini Horus” piece.
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Jimi Hendrix piece by the French brand, Nous Sommes.
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Beethoven piece by Japanese brand Ambush.
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Kanye’s re-worked Jesus Piece by Takashi Murakami.
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(l-r) Michael Jackson, Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, Lady GaGa, Karl Lagerfeld, Terry Richardson and Grace Jones – All by Nous Sommes.
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Jay-Z’s “All Black Everything” Jesus Piece.
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Michael Jackson pendant by Nous Sommes.
