Ubiquitous Hip Hop Accessory: The “Jesus Piece”

The “Jesus piece”  has long been regarded as one of Hip Hop’s most beloved accoutrements. 

It is an oversized platinum, gold or silver  pendant, made in the likeness of Jesus, sometimes encrusted with diamonds and other gems . Worn on a heavy rope style chain, these pendants have been a staple of Hip Hop youth culture for nearly thirty years. (from Urban Dictionary.com) 

I am not exactly certain who originated this popular adornment. Kanye West would probably argue that he made the ”Jesus piece” popular but I believe that the real honor should go to the Notorious BIG, who was seen wearing one in the popular image below.

“Cubans with the Jesus Piece” – The Notorious BIG (Hypnotize)

In recent years, rappers like Kanye West, Jay-Z and Kid Cudi have championed the ‘Jesus Piece movement’ by wearing these pendants embedded with colored and black diamonds and precious stones. Styles made from lighter wood have also been popularized by Kanye West, Jadakiss, LeBron James, Braylon Edwards and even Pau Gasol. Here is a Jesus Piece gallery with a few items ranging from beautiful to seriously hideous:

Kanye West's Piece

Kanye’s piece not, shining as brightly.There is something extremely gaudy about it…but hey, I’m not a famous rapper. What do I know?

Kanye’s Murakami Jesus Piece pictured above…(Pretty cool, eh?)

a better view of Kanye's Murakami "Jesus Piece"

Jay-Z's Jesus Piece

Jay-Z’s is some sort of burnished metal.

The “all black everything” Jesus piece

Kid Kudi's Jesus Piece

Kid Cudi’s looks exactly like Kanye’s. Maybe he borrowed it??

 

This one (above) is quite bizarre. Who would wear this?

chromed out Jesus Piece

The Jesus on this one looks like he has dreads....

supposedly this one is priced at around $20,000

South park Jesus Piece (Kinda cute)

This one is quite ugly (Forgive me Jesus!)

red wood Jesus Piece

brown wood

 More of the people who wear them 

Jadakiss and his wood Jesus pieces

even Pau Gasol for Christ's sake

And King James as well...

guy with all four colors available for the wood Jesus Piece

 What’s notable is that most times the wearer isn’t even making a statement about any religious beliefs, just simply wearing one to be fashionable. And don’t expect this trendy fashion statement to go anywhere anytime soon either. With the affordable wood version more accessible than the costly precious metal and stones version, these pendants will be around for years to come…or as soon as this fad burns out.  And of course fake Jesus pieces abound as well. With the ”Jesus Piece” branded as a classic, just like the cuban link chain now everyone can dress just like their favorite rapper or athlete…used to?

Just found this interesting piece…. right here that claims the Jesus Piece is dead. But I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think it’s a classic and classics never die. It might go into remission for a while. But it will not die.

And just in case you were wondering what the point of this post was….I just always wondered about Jesus Pieces and who wore them besides Kanye West. Apparently not too many people still do. My Google search was futile. I guess Kanye is now sole owner of this trend, but it looks like he’s retired his Jesus Piece for this ridiculous hunk of metal. Oh well…long live the Jesus piece!

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