wearing and flexing expensive shit was originally (in the hood) a comment on your personal confidence in the midst of danger. it was an unspoken threat to the world. a message stating that, "i can wear this shit anywhere and i dare a muhfucka to try and snatch my shit!" this was in the 70's and 80's when there was no police action on non-drug offenses, so if you got got, you just got got (gold, jordans, starter jackets, etc). and believe me, cats got their shit ran a lot in NYC/LA/ATL/MIAMI/ETC. that was what made wearing jewelry and shit such a status symbol in those days. not because it was a statement of how much you could buy, but it was more a statement of how much you could protect. it let mutherfuckers know you weren't weak cause you STILL GOT your gold. i remember certain neighborhoods, your boys would tell you to tuck your chains before coming to their house cause they didn't want anyone following you and starting static at their place. shiiiiit, bed stuy, nostrand ave was craze for that shit in 94. nowadays, it's just a message about how much one can afford, and even if that was your intended message, it has always been a much louder move to buy real estate and maybe a yacht to prove that. or maybe just making it into the gumball3000.
shecks got ran for his gold in vegas. yeah...and? hahaha. sucker.
k