Gold teeth are for pirates, Eastern European movie gangsters and rappers obsessed with ostentation. A gleaming grille is always good. A set of veneers in ultra-white porcelain used to suffice; today, green gangsta-glam demands that only platinum set with diamonds will do.
Flashy forefather Flavor Flav, Public Enemy's clock-wearing crackhead, was among the first to rock gold fronts. Fast-forward 20 years and every big-baller in the biz sports a bodacious mouthpiece. Foregoing the popular necklace, watch and sneaker boasts, Nelly, Paul Wall, Ali and Gipp collaborated on "Grillz," a pop- rap track celebrating their mouth jewelry, currently running a loop on every hip-hop radio station across the country.
Take a note from Nelly: "Rob the jewelry store and tell them 'make me a grille.'" Better yet, visit Vegas' Mr. Bling for custom-order chops at palatable prices. After the prerequisite dental mold? Do-it-yourself is available direct from Mr. Bling, or for perfect precision see your dentist. You need not fret about formulating your fanciful fronts—Mr. Bling's work sheet will ensure you get the grille you want.
With a catalog of popular styles in yellow, white, rose gold or platinum, and examples to examine, Mr. Bling has more than 10 years of experience making mouth jewelry. An import from Frisco, Mr. Bling set out to study the traditional jewelry trade but after numerous requests for fronts his focus shifted. Today his shops in Fremont, San Fran, San Jose and San Pablo do diamond-clad dentals full-time.
His mrbling.com offers the Web's lowest prices, though he assures they aren't bargain-basement buys. Even the simplest set of polished gold caps is custom-made and fit for comfort. And Mr. Bling can re-create any rapper's set, such as Lil' Jon's, packed with princess-cut diamonds.
From elongated fangs dipped in rubies to "penny candy" combos in semi-precious stone rainbows, Flav's high-polished yellow gold is just the tip of the grille glacier. Though busy catering to his international clientele, Mr. Bling has his fair share of local fans.
Joshua Towbin, a.k.a. Towbin Dodge's "The Chopper," a.k.a. Chop Chop of the rap threesome Trucents, picked up a pair last week: invisible set diamonds encased in white gold. He promises they're for public appearances only. Just for fun Josh, go full-grille on Leno's couch March 31.
Mr. Bling,
www.mrbling.com, 3375 South Decatur Blvd., Suite 21, 221-9668
Jennifer Henry's got the goods on what to get & where. E-mail her at
[email protected].