Seeing as bling is such a huge part of my life … I’ve been thinking about what it actually means … where did the term come from? Why do we use it in our everyday vernacular? What does it mean to you? Now you may think I need to find a hobby, however I love finding out the history behind language, why we say the things we do … and whether the same work means the same thing to everybody.
The Urban Dictionary provides the following definition … synonym for expensive, often flashy jewelry sported mostly by African American hip-hop artists and middle class Caucasian adolescents. v. to “bling-bling;” the act of sporting jewelry of a highly extravagant gaudy nature.
According to The Urban Dictionary (ho hum, whatever happened to the good old Macquarie?) Lil Wayne can be credited with coining the phrase “bling-bling” … in order to describe the imaginary sound of a sparkling Diamond.
The song “Bling Bling” can be found in the album “Chopper City in the Ghetto” released in 1999 by B.G. featuring cashmoney members including Lil wayne who sings the chorus “Bling Bling”. Since then, this phrase has been popular in the hip-hop culture.
And so this got me thinking … what does bling mean to me? It’s a term I use multiple times a day, both in business life and in my personal life. This is what I came up with:
Bling is something sparkly and fabulous … the perfect ring to create a knockout outfit, that awesome pair of earrings that stop traffic (no really, I’ve been told they do), my watch with it’s sparkly face. But it’s also more than that. I’ve “blinged” up my Iphone with a hot pink silicone case. My keyring features a pink, diamante studded “K”.
While many dictionary meanings stated “bling” to be ostentatious, gaudy and expensive … to me, bling doesn’t have to be any of these things, especially not expensive!
To me, bling is also a way of thinking … I try not to do the “negative” and only concentrate on the positive things in my life … and so the sparkly and fabulous can be so much more than just jewellery and accessories … I’m forever telling people to have a “super sparkly day” and signing my emails, bling bling.
And so, I would love to know, what does “BLING” mean to you?
Bling it on,
Katiebo xx
