Came in the Range, Hopped out the Lexus
Came in riding a Range Rover and got out of a Lexus

Every year since, I been on that next shit
Every year since then I have been moving to the next level

Traded in the gold for the platinum Rolexes
I traded gold (money) for platinum Rolexes

Now a nigga wrist match the status of my records
Now my watch finally matches the sales of my records (one million: platinum)

Lyrics excerpted from
‘On To The Next One’ by Jay-Z

A clever wordplay using Rolex stands out. I thought a lot about which rap lyrics featuring Rolex to quote. After considering which rapper's lyrics to use I chose Jay-Z. This is because Jay-Z is the very person who made hip-hop so huge that rappers could afford to buy Rolexes.

Rappers’ love for Rolex is no longer a secret. Many rappers buy Rolexes and write lyrics about them. The internet is full of questions like “Why do rappers love Rolex so much?” However it is hard to find a clear answer. Most people only talk about the phenomenon and the results but not the causes or the background.

Of course this is understandable. Usually there is not just one answer in such cases. In other words there can never be an absolute answer. It is not as if God suddenly came down and said “From now on rappers must love Rolex I am going back up.” That is why a complex perspective and reasonable speculation are needed. Here are my thoughts on how Rolex became a symbolic item in hip-hop.

First it is necessary to ask a more fundamental question than why it is Rolex and not another watch brand. That is “Why do watches worth tens of thousands of dollars appear in music” and “Why do rappers try so hard to show off that they own such expensive watches.”

'Self-made'

The most important code in hip-hop is 'self-made.' The closest Korean word is 'jasuseongga' (self-made success). Many of the African Americans who founded hip-hop came from ghettos. A ghetto means a dangerous and poor neighborhood. It is a place where drugs are frequently traded in back alleys many people are taken to prison you wake up to the sound of police cars and the friend you played with yesterday is lying on the street. It is a place you were born in regardless of your will but want to escape from as soon as possible.

And they had two dreams. Two dreams to escape the ghetto: 'hip-hop' and 'basketball.' Either succeed in rap to gain wealth and fame and escape the ghetto or become an NBA star through basketball and escape the ghetto. If they achieve either of these two they become self-made.

'Hustle'

Then how do you become self-made. The answer is 'hustle.' Here hustle means struggling and striving. Doing whatever it takes to earn money to support your family and lift up your household working harder than yesterday and trying to live as intensely as possible is the basic mentality of young black men living in the ghetto. Hustle is the practical way of life they must follow in their harsh environment and at the same time the shortcut to success. To escape the ghetto you have to 'hustle hard.'

ⓒ GQ-magazine

Jay-Z is the icon of self-made. He was born in a public housing complex (ghetto) in Brooklyn but worked hard (hustled) to achieve his dream of becoming a rapper and eventually succeeded greatly escaping the ghetto (self-made). He probably felt something like this. "I was born in the ghetto and was destined to live miserably. But I changed my fate with my own strength. Now I am rich and have earned fame. Call me the embodiment of self-made success!"

The next thing rappers who have succeeded in being self-made do is to show off their current life to the whole world. This act used to be called 'swagger' and nowadays is called 'flex.' Swagger or flex is not just empty boasting or showing off money. Rather it is closer to a complex sense of style or aura that arises when you confidently display your external and internal qualities.

This is where Rolex comes in. Something you could never dream of owning when you were poor but can now have. Not something bought with inherited wealth but with money you earned yourself. Not money earned easily but money you got after struggling fiercely to escape the ghetto. For rappers Rolex is not just a luxury item. Instead it is a trophy earned by overcoming adversity a gift for those who have succeeded in shaping their own destiny and a kind of certificate of achievement. “I started from the bottom and made it all the way up here! This proves my success.”

The Unique Nature of Hip-Hop as a Genre

Here a question arises. There are many artists who have succeeded in music besides rappers. This is where the unique nature of hip-hop as a genre comes into play. Hip-hop is music told mainly in the first person about the rapper’s own life music that strictly demands honesty and truth to the point of obsession music that openly expresses ambition and constantly says “I will do this I will become that” music that celebrates individual greatness and achievement. Thanks to these unique characteristics Rolex is constantly mentioned openly in hip-hop unlike in other genres and has become the symbolic watch of hip-hop. While a successful folk musician might release a new song about lyrical love with a Rolex sitting in their room rappers can make the very story of buying a Rolex into a new song.

So why is it Rolex and not another watch brand.
And is this just a coincidence. To be continued in the next article

Day-Date 40 228238

40mm, Champagne/Diamond, President

Day-Date 36 128238

36mm, Champagne/Diamond, President