page_title: Grill (jewelry)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Grill (jewelry) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Paul Wall in June 2005
context_page_description: In hip hop culture, a grill, also known as fronts or golds, is a type of dental jewelry worn over the teeth. Grills are made of metal and are generally removable. They began to be worn by hip-hop artists in New York City in the early 1980s, and upgraded during the '90s in Oakland. They became even more widely popular during the mid-2000s due to the rise of Southern hip hop rap and the more mainstream pop culture status hip hop attained.
context_section_description: The insertion of gems into teeth predates hip hop culture, and started in what is now Mexico when wealthy Mayans drilled pieces of jade into their teeth. Hip hop artists such as Raheem the Dream and Kilo Ali began wearing grills in the early 1980s; New Yorker Eddie Plein, owner of Eddie's Gold Teeth, is often credited with bringing the trend to New York.  Plein made gold caps for Flavor Flav, and then outfitted New York rappers including Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap.  He later moved to Atlanta, where he designed ever-more-elaborate grills for rappers like OutKast, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Lil Jon.  Other writers have cited Slick Rick and Afrika Bambaataa as an important early contributor to the popularity of grills.
  Grills remained popular in the Southern U.S., especially in Houston or Memphis, even as they rose and fell from popularity elsewhere, and the rise of Dirty South rappers in the 2000s spurred a nationwide grill trend.  During this time, grills frequently appeared in hip hop music, most notably in the 2005 number one single "Grillz," by Nelly, Paul Wall, Big Gipp, and Ali, and in other Paul Wall songs. Wall is known for his grill business as well as his rapping; his clients include Kanye West and Cam'ron.
  Grills maintained their popularity into the 2010s, with French grillmaker Dolly Cohen creating custom oral jewelry for Rihanna, Cara Delevingne, and Rita Ora.
  In 2015, DJ Khaled created a song based around grills, "Gold Slugs" (feat. Chris Brown, August Alsina & Fetty Wap) Gold Slugs also is used as a term similar to grills with the same meaning.
caption: Paul Wall wearing his trademark grills.  Some of Wall's grills cost nearly $30,000.[6]
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