adminWith time, in post-2002 the word bling came alive in the media and round about 2004 it made its entrance into the Oxford dictionary — with a definition that goes like:
“Bling (or bling-bling) is a slang term popularised in hip-hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewellery and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed, such as cell phones or tooth caps.”
In linguistics terms, bling bling is an idiophone intended to evoke the “sound” of light hitting silver, platinum, or diamonds. It is not an onomatopoeia, because the act of jewellery shining does not make a sound.
The form bling-bling is a case of reduplication. Rapper Lil Wayne once claimed to have “invented” the word one night in the studio.
However, this particular idiophone was already in use years earlier, and was in usage in rap songs such as Slick Rick’s 1988 single Mona Lisa.
My friends from Ekasi define bling as – imbonani – show off.
Show offs don’t have street cred(ibility) because they tend to show off with things that are irrelevant. Imagine showing off a Rolex watch to a guy who wears a water resist Sharp watch because all he needs from a watch is to check out time?
Or a guy who drinks Castle Lite at a tavern where everyone is drinking amasese, which I am told is the healthiest alcoholic drink.
In other words bling bling is simply style that is outstanding. Everyone claims to have style at some point in time. If you were the only one who wore bow tied moccasin shoes in your clique back in the day I guess you were blinging.
If your mom was the only one among her friends who had a georgette fabric dress that the late Solomon Skuza sang about in one of his songs then she was HOT! The georgette was a hit in the 80s. In Skuza’s song his girlfriend cries for a georgette dress. Failure to buy it would result in him losing her. The dress meant a lot and it defined style.
Bling is everywhere it is part of human nature. In the late 80’s if you were a politician and you did not drive a Toyota Cressida (Zimbabwean assembled) you did not have style. Ignoring the fact that the same car more than a decade later would be used by the first generation of omalayitsha who would also use the Peugeot 504 station wagons for the same job, that was the period before the second generation that got to use Toyota Ventures.
Bling is from the same family of words such as “cool,” “funky,” “hot,” and that word I have been trying to avoid because this week everytime I tried using it I was reminded of the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s sexcapades. The word is “sexy.”
Apparently the media tells us there are more than five women out there who are stricken by the Prime Minister as a “sexy” person. That could be his style which others feel is in bad taste.
To continue talking about bling as if it’s an equivalent of seeing your brother’s wife naked (taboo) is some sort of denial that we all love bling, we live for bling we work for bling and we breathe to see the next day just in case we get to have bling.
There is one section of society that is now setting the trend in talking about bling and selling the bling idea to me the man on the street. You guessed it right if you said “pentecostal church” in your head.
On Wednesday night I was in a praise and worship mood and there was no better way to do it other than watching gospel television that is mostly characterised by men who dress in shiny suits and speak to audiences at an auditorium.
The one that I stumbled upon was unique. He clearly bragged about wearing the most expensive Gucci suit, staying in a leafy suburb and having enough money to buy a Lamborghini. His peers in the industry would rather not say it straight like that instead they would talk about something like:
“With God you can achieve anything. Your earnings will multiply and you will be blessed.”
But this brother calls a teaspoon by its name and not the young one of a shovel. His name is Pastor Urbet Angel and he is not shy to tell women that they should not marry broke men. In one sermon he advised that people do not eat speaking in tongues but food that money buys.
On his profile he says:
“The devil owns your workplace, your bank and the market place. When you get paid he leaves you with a few dollars to put in a bank he also owns. After you deposit that money into a bank he owns, he will force you through circumstances to withdraw that money so that you spend it on paying bills and buying necessities. The problem still is that he also owns the market place where you buy your necessities.”
This could be the reason why Pentecostal churches are becoming popular while the traditional missionary churches are losing ground.
They have to move with the times. So if you want an audience, talk about bling and make sure you have examples to go with your sermon. If you want your church to grow talk about style and bling.
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