Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry

May 9, 2024 — January 5, 2025

Closed

Included with any admission.
Floor 1, Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, Meister Gallery 

Slick Rick wearing an eyepatch over his right eye, a large crown, heavy gold necklaces, and over 7 large rings.
Photograph by Janette Beckman, Courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery
See stunning jewelry pieces that trace the history of hip-hop from the 1980s to today.

Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry celebrates hip-hop's cultural influence through stunning jewelry worn by some of its iconic stars.

Highlights include Slick Rick’s dazzling crown, the Notorious B.I.G.’s legendary gold ‘Jesus piece,’ the diamond-studded Roc-A-Fella medallion for the record label co-founded by Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj’s sparkling ‘Barbie’ pendant, and pieces from Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, Joey Bada$$, FERG, and Tyler, the Creator, among others.

Wide view of the interior of the Meister Gallery featuring multiple glass cases filled with jewelry.
Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry opens at the American Museum of Natural History on May 9, in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, part of the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.
Alvaro Keding/© AMNH
Thick gold chain curled into circular shape with a sneaker-shaped pendant at the end.
Following Run-DMC’s 1986 song “My Adidas,” Adidas struck a first-of-its-kind endorsement deal with the group, giving each member one of these 14-karat gold sneaker-shaped pendants.
Alvaro Keding/© AMNH
Diamond-encrusted pendant of the word "Barbie" in cursive and a dangling heart charm below the "r."
Nicki Minaj’s iconic Barbie pendant—which boasts 54.47 carats of diamonds on 18-karat gold and bright Barbie-pink enamel—was made by Ashna Mehta in 2022 and is the most recent commissioned by Minaj, whose first Barbie pendant dates to 2009.
Alvaro Keding/© AMNH

Building on New York City’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as a global phenomenon, Ice Cold will highlight the evolution of jewelry in hip-hop over the past five decades, starting with oversized gold chains embraced by rap’s pioneers in the 1980s and moving through the 1990s, when emcees turned business moguls sported record label pendants sparkling with diamonds and platinum. 

This exhibition is on view in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, within the Museum’s new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, and is included with all admission.

Exhibition Playlist

A mix created by DJ Woof featuring the following songs can be heard in Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry. 

Biz Markie – “Just a Friend”  
Notorious B.I.G. – “Big Poppa”  
Tupac ft. Anthony Hamilton – “Dear Mama”  
Joey Bada$$ ft. J Cole – “Legendary"  
Erykah Badu – “On and On”  
Fat Joe – “Shit is Real Pt. III” 
Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon – “Kilo”  
KRS One – “The Bridge is Over”  
A Tribe Called Quest – “Jazz (We’ve Got)” 
Jay-Z – “4:44” 
People Under the Stairs – “Acid Raindrops” 
Big Pun ft. Fat Joe – “Twinz (Deep Cover 98’)” 
Outkast – “ATLiens"  
A Tribe Called Quest – “God Lives Through”  
Roxanne Shanté – “Roxanne’s Revenge”  
Run DMC – “Run’s House”  
Tupac ft. Snoop Dogg – “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted”  
The Game ft. 50 Cent – “How We Do” 
Daddy Yankee – “Ella Me Levanto”  
The Beatnuts ft. Big Pun – “Off the Books”  
Bad Bunny – “Booker T” 
Aaliyah ft. Slick Rick – “Got to Give it Up” 
MC Lyte – “Act Like You Know” 
Public Enemy ft. Professor Griff – “Rebirth of a Nation”  
Queen Latifah – “Latifah’s Had it Up to Here”