Hip hop moguls are suffering in the credit crunch just as much as the man on the street, it has been revealed.
The recession has claimed another victim - the "bling bling" culture beloved of hip hop stars and their fans.
Jewellers have reported that rappers are now asking them to make cheaper versions of the watches and medallions that they commonly use as status symbols, notes the Wall Street Journal. According to the celebrity watchmakers, some stars have even asked them to replace diamonds - so essential to the "icey" look paid tribute to in countless hip hop records - with fake cubic zirconias.
"A lot of these rappers simply don't have the money for real stuff anymore," Los Angeles-based jeweller Jason Arasheben told the newspaper.
The ongoing recession has hit rich and poor alike on both sides of the Atlantic. America, where most rappers are based, has suffered a contracting economy since 2007, while the UK officially entered recession at the end of 2008.
Both societies are currently facing depressed consumer spending, falling house prices - with the cost of the average residential property down by 15 percent in a year in the UK - and highly volatile stock markets.
The vulnerability of the US and the UK to the downturn has been increased by the high levels of personal debts run up by consumers prior to the onset of the crisis - with the attempts of some people to emulate the expensive "bling bling" lifestyle of their hip hop heroes contributing to the deficits. Figures from Credit Action recently showed that Britons are a collective £1.5 trillion in the hole.
Hip hop entrepreneur and co-founder of Cash Money records Bryan Williams - better known to his fans as Birdman - admitted to the Wall Street Journal that "times are hard" for rappers. "Ain't nobody rocking it like that anymore," he added.
Fellow Cash Money mogul Slim Williams also suggested that some hip hop artists had been ripped off when they bought jewellery in the boomtimes prior to the credit crunch. He said: "People think these big pieces [of jewellery] are blindin' but they be like D-quality diamonds and when you try and sell them you learn they ain't worth a thing."
